“I let Nika Melia get away with a great deal on numerous occasions, including completely baffling attacks on me over the years. I always hoped he would amount to something; I backed him in every way possible and ignored the sceptics who pointed out his lack of education and total absence of principles,” wrote the former President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, on social media.

As Saakashvili notes, Melia ended up, in the final reckoning, in the very same swamp where Okruashvili, the Bokerias and a few others already find themselves.

“I have never envied anyone, and I do not envy anyone now. On the contrary, I have always taken great pleasure in the success of others. I have given a start in life to a great many successful figures, both here and in Ukraine.

Many of those I have raised are very active members of the Rada in Ukraine: some are ministers, some ambassadors. One of my former assistants leads Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (Semen Kryvonos). Another is one of the principal commanders of the celebrated Azov Corps (Colonel Giorgi Kuparashvili).

Those whom I set on their path in Georgia have spread across the entire world. Lado Gurgenidze led the most successful reforms in Africa; Dima Shashkin is carrying out educational reforms in Central Asia; Zurab Adeishvili is a distinguished jurist in Ukraine and heads the country’s Interpol. Vera Kobalia is leading reforms in Indonesia. Some have shown gratitude for such support; others have not, but I am always proud of these people.

And finally, my closest assistant over many years and a dear friend is now one of the leading political figures in France and one of the most significant presidential candidates for next year. So when Raphaël becomes president, ought I to envy him, or ought I to feel immeasurable pride? Even if he does nothing for me whatsoever.

There are people from whom I was unable to draw anything, despite every effort. Such was the case, for instance, with Irakli Okruashvili, whom I discovered early, whom I guided along, yet who was carried away by his own ambitions, sank into corruption, tied himself to Patarkatsishvili, and became consumed by bitterness towards me.

Regrettably, Nika Melia has found himself in a similar situation; a man I get away with a great deal on numerous occasions, including completely baffling attacks on me over the years. I always hoped he would amount to something; I backed him in every way possible and ignored the sceptics who pointed out his lack of education and total absence of principles.

In the end, I was proven wrong, and Melia has wound up in the very same swamp as Okruashvili, the Bokeria clan, and a few others. I genuinely feel sorry that he has ended up in this role, but there is nothing left for me to do now except express my regret.

The one thing I wish with all my heart is that Nikanor should be freed as swiftly as possible and return to his family, to embrace his child. For me, politics is not merely ambition; it is, above all, a matter of being human. I harbour no ill feeling towards him whatsoever, and I call upon no one else to do so either. What has happened was what was always going to happen.

Dear Nika, I wish you freedom and a happy life,” writes Mikheil Saakashvili.