Tbilisi Mayor responds to U.S. sanctions on Ivanishvili, calling them blackmail
“Many were sceptical and had questions, but yesterday’s decision clearly shows that it was blackmail,” Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze said in response to the U.S. decision to impose financial sanctions on Bidzina Ivanishvili, Honorary Chairman of the Georgian Dream.
“This confirms everything we’ve been saying. Many doubted, but after yesterday’s decision, it’s clear it was blackmail. Bidzina Ivanishvili was informally sanctioned. Yesterday’s statement confirmed that after these sanctions, the right to transfer the won funds will be suspended. Everything is clear now. What were these people demanding? They wanted direct involvement in the war, to surrender the country’s interests, which would have been catastrophic and destructive for Georgia. There was constant blackmail against the government, attempts to destabilize the cabinet, and calls for us to join the sanctions—this would have been disastrous for our country. If we had made a mistake, succumbed to pressure, and taken the wrong steps, we would have lost the country, and that would have been the most difficult outcome in its history,” Kakha Kaladze said.
He added that everything is being controlled from one central source.
“Regarding Bidzina Ivanishvili’s funds and related statements, everything is clear. It’s all being managed from one place, and this decision also implies that a court case won in an entirely independent state, is being questioned. The funds Ivanishvili was supposed to receive won’t happen. In other words, the blackmail we’ve been talking about regarding these funds has been confirmed. Today, no one has any further questions on the matter,” Kaladze concluded.