Georgian PM: public understands that foreign-backed ‘agents’ must not govern country

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Monday criticised the country’s former president Mikheil Saakashvili, claiming that recent statements made by the ex-head of state demonstrate what he described as an “unhealthy state”.

Speaking to journalists, Kobakhidze said that a person with such a condition had been “imposed from outside” as Georgia’s President for nine years, adding that the former president’s latest comments serve as a reminder of that period.

“This is certainly not a healthy state. Day by day, this person increasingly demonstrates that, for nine years, the country’s leadership was entrusted to someone who was not in a healthy condition”, the PM said.

He further argued that the public should draw conclusions from what he described as an externally imposed leadership and stressed that the country should not be governed by individuals acting on behalf of foreign interests.

“I would like to remind everyone that such an unhealthy person was imposed on us from outside as Georgia’s President and leader. The public should once again draw conclusions from this. In any case, the public understands very well how the country should be governed. The public knows that under no circumstances should agent network govern our country”, he concluded.