Grigol Vashadze stated that "from the president to the attaché, no one ever thought of giving up a part of sovereignty to anyone" - To this, Tea Tsulukiani responded: Don't swear on that—Saakashvili might have thought about it

Former Georgian Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze responded during a session of the parliamentary temporary investigative commission examining the activities of the United National Movement’s government, saying:

"Never, from the president down to the attaché, did anyone ever have this idiotic idea—to give up part of our sovereignty to someone else."

This statement was in response to a question from the commission's secretary, Sozar Subari, regarding a televised statement made by Mikheil Saakashvili.

The issue concerns an interview given by the third president, in which, according to Subari, Saakashvili stated that he would "refuse NATO membership if an agreement could be reached with Russia regarding Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region."

Grigol Vashadze said he does not believe that Mikheil Saakashvili made such a statement.

"Never, in any conversation, did President Saakashvili even think about giving up part of our sovereignty. As members of parliament, you will agree that rejecting Georgia's foreign policy choice means surrendering part of its sovereignty. I have never heard, seen, attended, or believed that Mikheil Saakashvili, as president, made such a statement. Theoretically, he could have asked in a phone conversation, 'What changes for what?' but I was not present for that. However, as you know, diplomacy is, bluntly speaking, about give-and-take. But no one in that administration ever considered giving up part of Georgia’s sovereignty. And for a simple reason—when the Russians said, ‘Even bargaining over NATO is impossible because, regardless of your will, they will drag you in, place missiles on your territory, and aim them at the Russian Federation.’ As for legal processes, all the materials requested from other agencies were forwarded accordingly," said Grigol Vashadze.

In response, commission secretary Sozar Subari stated that there is a video comment from Mikheil Saakashvili that confirms the third president made this statement.

"I hope journalists will find this footage and show the public how Saakashvili says the words in which he conveyed that he was refusing NATO membership. If this was happening without the involvement of the Foreign Ministry, such serious statements made unilaterally by the president are unimaginable and clearly illustrate the nature of governance under that regime," Subari said.

In turn, Vashadze defended the governance of 2003–2012, calling it effective.

"The governance was effective. As for Georgian diplomacy and foreign policy, people can make mistakes, but we are discussing serious matters—issues that are documented and which, as the former head of the Foreign Ministry, I can sign off on at any moment. Never, from the president down to the attaché, did anyone ever have this idiotic idea—to give up part of our sovereignty to someone else. There was no such offer from Russia either," said Vashadze.

To this, the commission’s chairperson, Tea Tsulukiani, responded with the following remark:

"Now, what went through Saakashvili’s head—that’s another question… But don’t swear that this thought never crossed his mind."