I joined the Cartu Group through an open competition and that’s how I met Bidzina Ivanishvili, reads the statement, released by the Prime Minister of Georgia.

“I consider myself obliged to the society to respond to the campaign launched by our internal and external political opponents regarding the so-called de-oligarchization, which, on the one hand, is a completely unsubstantiated accusation against Bidzina Ivanishvili and, on the other hand, aims to discredit the current governance system in Georgia.

As they have no evidence of Ivanishvili’s involvement in politics, their so-called main “evidence” of oligarchic rule is the fact that I and several leading members of our political team entered politics under his leadership.

First of all, I will recall that I joined the Cartu Group through an open competition and that"s how I met Bidzina Ivanishvili. Naturally, as the director of the Cartu charity foundation, I had a close relationship with him. At that time, a friendly relationship was established between Bidzina Ivanishvili’s family and my family, which makes my whole family particularly proud.

I am also particularly proud of my personal friendship with Bera. I want to explain to the public that our families have periodic communication with each other. For example, recently, my wife has received advice from Bidzina Ivanishvili’s wife regarding a certain medical issue.

If I had a similar communication with Bidzina Ivanishvili from time to time, naturally, there would be nothing wrong in that either.

When Bidzina Ivanishvili announced his entry into politics in 2011, I did not hesitate for a second. Of course, I was aware of the risks associated with my decision.

However, not only because of my attitude towards Bidzina Ivanishvili, but also because of Georgia’s interests, I decided to actively participate in the struggle for democratic transition”, - reads the statement of Irakli Garibashvili.