“Victory over the enemy is possible only through unity. When it comes to fighting the enemy, we can no longer afford to pursue separate agendas,” declared former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili at Tbilisi City Court, where proceedings in the sabotage case against him are ongoing.

He added that the only path forward is to fight.

“What we need now, in the face of this sabotage, is for everyone to unite. I know that some say they want to go their own way and pursue their own separate projects. I respect that. But we must start from a basic question: are those carrying out this sabotage our enemies or not? If they are our enemies, then the only way to defeat an enemy is together. This is not an ordinary political process. The point is that we can no longer afford separate priorities when it comes to fighting the enemy.

Some actors were themselves chasing protesters at rallies and snatching my photographs from their hands. When you snatch someone’s photograph from a protester, it becomes rather difficult to ask those same people to come to your aid when you need them. I have a very great many supporters in Georgia. I ask with all my heart for the release of Andro Chichnadze; I do. But why were so few people there? Because before that, they had been chasing away my photographs. That is not how unity is built. Unity means all of us setting aside old grievances and being able to fight together.

In the weeks ahead, Iran’s dictatorship will begin to crumble, and that will weaken Russia considerably. You should ask those who will have nowhere left to run. That is why I want everyone to understand: this is the decisive moment. We must dig in and hold firm, and these people must not remain in power,” said Mikheil Saakashvili.