Salome Zurabishvili: Bidzina Ivanishvili is losing his closest and most trusted people and is left exposed, relying solely on Irakli Kobakhidze — the sanctions are working and having a much bigger impact than we imagine

Bidzina Ivanishvili is losing those who were his closest, most trusted, and his pillars of support. He is essentially left exposed, relying solely on Irakli Kobakhidze, - this is how Georgia's fifth president, Salome Zurabishvili, assessed the resignation of Vakhtang Gomelauri as Minister of Internal Affairs.

According to her, the sanctions are having an effect.

“We see the unraveling and turbulence process even more clearly now. Practically, not a day goes by without a new sign that the first circle around Bidzina Ivanishvili, which had supported him until now, is collapsing. This is a sign that, on the one hand, the sanctions are working and they are having a much bigger effect than we can imagine. By the way, that’s characteristic of sanctions — they start working slowly and then accelerate.

The second sign is very important. In reality, with these latest reshuffles, Bidzina Ivanishvili is losing those who were his closest, most trusted, and his mainstay. He is essentially left exposed, relying solely on Irakli Kobakhidze, which does not indicate that this regime enjoys any internal strength. This is the political reality they must face.

At the same time, all partnerships with our democratic friends are being lost — that’s also clear. Even the letters and messages exchanged with the US embassy and administration are a sign that any hope of getting things back on track is quickly disappearing, if not already gone. That is our current situation. I think it means that more than ever, we must be strong, confident in ourselves, because this struggle is a just struggle, and it’s a struggle that will ultimately lead to victory,” Zurabishvili stated.

For context, today, Minister of Internal Affairs Vakhtang Gomelauri resigned. Gomelauri explained that he was stepping down of his own accord to spend more time with his family — his wife, children, and his newly born grandchild. He also noted that this decision was not easy for him, but despite leaving his post, he remains loyal to Georgian Dream. Vakhtang Gomelauri will be replaced as Interior Minister by Gela Geladze, who was introduced by Georgia’s Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze. Until now, Gela Geladze was serving as Deputy Head of the State Security Service. Previously, Geladze was Deputy Minister of Education and later Deputy Minister of Defense.