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The News in Brief

Tuesday, September 12, 2023
Prepared by Messenger Staff

Irakli Kobakhidze Dismisses Opposition's Prime Minister Impeachment Demands as Speculation and Nonsense

Irakli Kobakhidze, the chairman of the ruling party of Georgia, Georgian Dream, responded to opposition demands for the impeachment of Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili and assessed it as 'speculation and nonsense'.

According to him, Gharibashvili did not spend budget money while traveling to Munich on a charter flight, and the case does not contain any signs of crime. Kobakhidze stated that the opposition wants to "cover for their teammate, Salome Zourabichvili".

"What's with the impeachment? Read the Constitution. Not a cent of the budget has been spent, and they have been justifying spending budget money for their personal welfare. Talk of impeachment is speculation and nonsense. These people were justifying Saakashvili's spending of budget money for his own welfare. Irakli Gharibashvili has not spent a single tetri from the budget. Do you realize how much speculation we are dealing with? This is shameful," said Kobakhidze.

The Lelo party announced their intention to initiate impeachment proceedings against Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili, citing Article 48 of the Constitution as the basis for impeachment. This article reads that if the Prime Minister's actions show signs of a crime, it is possible to raise the issue of impeachment.

In addition, the United National Movement party has applied to the prosecutor's office, requesting an investigation into possible abuse of office (Article 332, Part 2) and possible bribery (Article 338, Part 2, Sub-Clause 'A') on the part of Gharibashvili.



Prime Minister of Georgia Meets New Dutch Ambassador Meline Arakelian

Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Gharibashvili, held an introductory meeting with the new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Georgia, Meline Arakelian.

According to the press service of the Prime Minister, the meeting, which took place at the government administration, involved a review of the main areas of cooperation between Georgia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

"Among the discussed issues were the existing relations between Georgia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, characterized by increasing dynamics at both the bilateral and international organizational levels.

During the meeting, attention was focused on Georgia's European integration process. The head of the government informed the ambassador about the progress achieved by Georgia and the current situation regarding the implementation of 12 recommendations. He also noted that Georgia anticipates obtaining candidate status by the end of the year.

The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of Georgia receiving candidate status and the support of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in this process.

Irakli Gharibashvili congratulated Meline Arakelian on the start of her diplomatic mission in Georgia and wished her success in her future activities," the Prime Minister's press office stated.