Former Georgian foreign minister Zurabishvili endorses Saakashvili rival
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 12 July 2012 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Former Georgian foreign minister Zurabishvili endorses Saakashvili rival, 12 July 2012, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/5000254c5.html [accessed 24 May 2013] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
July 12, 2012
TBILISI – Former Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zurabishvili has arrived in Tbilisi and announced her support for the opposition Georgian Dream political coalition of billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili.
Zurabishvili, who served as Georgian foreign minister under President Mikhail Saakashvili in 2004-05, was the head of the opposition Georgia's Way party but has not been active in local politics since November 2010.
She said she would not run for parliament but added that Georgian Dream is the only force in the country capable of unseating the Saakashvili government through the ballot box.
She described the current government as a "cancer" on the country.
Zurabishvili has said in the past that Saakashvili was "personally responsible" for initiating the August 2008 war with Russia that led to Moscow's recognition of the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
