Grigol Gegelia: If I were in Ivanishvili's place, I would seriously be afraid of Kobakhidze, whom he himself raised

The U.S. Embassy will never make such an official statement without having very solid and verified information.

I believe the embassy did not receive the type of response from the disintegrating national security system that it was expecting, so it acted according to protocol itself, - this is how one of the leaders of the coalition "Lelo – Strong Georgia," Grigol Gegelia, assessed the U.S. Embassy's statement regarding the possible explosion threats in major shopping centers in Tbilisi, which was issued without coordination with Georgia's security service.

According to Gegelia, he is deeply convinced that the intelligence information held by the U.S. Embassy is truthful.

“I am sure that the U.S. Embassy would never make such an official statement without having very solid and verified information. I am deeply convinced that the intelligence information they had is truthful, the risk might have existed and still exists. The process is ongoing, and there hasn’t been further communication where the U.S. Embassy would state that this risk no longer exists at the operational level. Apparently, the U.S. Embassy did not receive an adequate response from the State Security Service, and they considered it necessary to take action themselves when the State Security Service either failed or did not respond. The embassy did not receive the type of response it expected from the disintegrating national security system, so it acted according to protocol,” said Gegelia.

Additionally, he spoke about the "MEGOBARI Act" and the sanctions list, noting that the "MEGOBARI Act" is an important example of how both chambers of parliament are cooperating to protect Georgian democracy from a tyrannical Russian-Chinese regime. Regarding the sanctions, Gegelia stated that Ivanishvili will inevitably face severe political and financial consequences.

“I think that by the end of May, this process will be launched, and the act will be sent to the President for signing. It is an important example of how both chambers of parliament are cooperating to protect Georgian democracy from a tyrannical Russian-Chinese regime, which poses an open threat to Georgian national security and the Georgian people.

As for the sanctions list, the current option is very ambitious. I think the list shows how detailed the knowledge of Georgia is. They are not only looking at politicians, businesses, and judges; they are looking at the entire regime as a whole. Ivanishvili cannot escape sanctions. If he cares about this, he should know that sanctions are guaranteed for him.

I agree with “Georgian Dream” on this, rarely but a broken clock sometimes shows the correct time. Trump could have imposed sanctions yesterday or even two weeks ago. Trump doesn’t need this law to sanction anyone, but the existence of the law gives another moral and political weight to the desire for sanctions. When the Senate and Congress support you, when the parliamentary family says that these people are not behaving properly, robbing their own people, the sanctions have a completely different caliber. Ivanishvili does not have strong analysis; none of his calculations have worked out, including regarding the protests. He expected that there wouldn’t be protests, no sanctions, and what do we see? 160 days of protests, 13 countries openly demanding new elections, sanctions imposed. If he doesn’t realize that sanctions are coming, and if he cares, here’s a free piece of advice: sanctions are coming for him. He will inevitably have to pay a heavy political and financial price. This will be a very big blow. Before this happens, he should call for new parliamentary elections,” said Gegelia.

Furthermore, he assessed the fact that Irakli Kobakhidze was elected as the chairman of the "Georgian Dream" party. According to Gegelia, if he were in Ivanishvili's place, he would seriously be afraid of Kobakhidze, whom he himself raised, because Kobakhidze is strengthening his position around himself.

“It was a ‘shocking news’ that Kobakhidze became the chairman. Who would have imagined this scale of ‘democracy’? The power is monopolized in the hands of one person. He is influential, and he has really changed the cadres for himself, which has further strengthened institutional control. He is strengthening his positions around himself. If I were in Ivanishvili’s place, I would seriously be afraid, including of Kobakhidze, whom he himself raised, because Kobakhidze is openly executing Russia’s political will. I wouldn’t be surprised if he is personally responsible for political communication with Russia,” said Gegelia.