(Read the full article on jam-news.net)

Former Prime Minister of Georgia and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili called ex-PM Gakharia a “traitor” in his first public statement since retiring from politics five months ago, JAMnews reported.

In a letter published on his behalf, Ivanishvili commented on the ongoing political processes in the country. In particular, Ivanishvili criticized the former team, former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia.

Ivanishvili called Gakharia a “traitor” and described Gakharia’s new party as “pseudo-party.”

Bidzina Ivanishvili believes that Gakharia’s resignation in February was a betrayal of his own team, “and, more importantly, it was a direct betrayal of his own state”.

“It is difficult to imagine a more serious political crime than that of a high-ranking official going against the rule of law and leaving the office under this pretext. Sadly, I have to say this has caused me great disappointment”, Ivanishvili wrote.

On February 18, Giorgi Gakharia said that he was leaving his post because of “disagreements with the other team members” over the impending arrest of the leader of the opposition United National Movement party Nika Melia.

On February 23, special forces stormed the party’s office and arrested Melia, prompting a sharp reaction from both the Georgian opposition and Western politicians and diplomats.

It soon became known that the retired prime minister was creating his own party. The first congress of the “Sakartvelostvis” (“For Georgia”) movement was held on June 1.

In his letter, Bidzina Ivanishvili ruled out the possibility of political cooperation with Giorgi Gakharia and his party:

“The creation of a pseudo-party is in itself a wrong undertaking. Political cooperation with Giorgi Gakharia would be completely unacceptable for me. Over the years, we have witnessed many political mistakes in Georgian politics, and I thought that nothing and no one could surprise me in this respect. However, what Giorgi Gakharia did in February this year was, indeed, surprising”.