2017-01-25
Our statements on Mr. Tsertsvadze's case are crystal clear-Georgia does not extradite its citizens to other countries, especially one with its military bases stationed in our territory. It should have been out of the question in the first place. Over the past two days, our Chief Prosecutor Irakli Shotadze has been in touch with Ukraine's Chief Prosecutor, and we certainly hope that this case will be closed without Tsertsvadze's extradition to Russia. More importantly, however, our opponents want to keep us in self-justification mode. They have engaged their television station, their partner televisions, and a part of the NGO sector, to distract us from the main agenda and keep us proving on end that we are not ruining the country. All this is done by a political force who is largely responsible for the deterioration of the country's security for a decade and for leading the country to failure in the face of provocation, giving the green light to Russia's imperialistic intentions. Moreover, they are accusing us of disrespecting our soldiers. Yet they themselves let half of the soldiers, participants of the conflict in 2008, rot in prison, killing many behind bars, and not so much as transporting the bodies out of the conflict zone. They instigated a heinous provocation in Kodori to slaughter our heroes.
Krialashvili, already dead, was tied to a chair and shot again. These people are accusing us today of lacking respect for our soldiers. I would like to urge our citizens to see these people for who they are and call to mind their record, the people who reproach us today for lacking patriotism, for being nothing short of traitors. Discern who is who, and who does what, and who really wants what is the best for this country. No matter what, however, they will never alienate us from the main agenda. We will surely continue our consistent path leading our country out of this misfortune once and for all and setting it on the right track to development. This is our unchanging agenda, and the country is standing by us in this cause, regardless of who dominates the media environment. I repeat that these unworthy people cannot compete with us when it comes to patriotism!
Prime Minister's Press Office