Georgian billionaire and politician Bidzina Ivanishvili has released his video interview, where he comments on the meeting of the Georgian and U.S. presidents held in Washington on January 30. In the two-minute address, the oligarch, who has already voiced his presidential ambitions, has hailed the meeting and the initiative of Barack Obama to begin negotiations about the free trade relations with Georgia, which he believes will be particularly effective after his political team, comes to the power.
`The visit has reaffirmed that the United States is out most important partners,` Ivanishvili said and voiced his position regarding Georgia`s NATO aspirations and the statements made in this regard during the meeting in the White House.
`The U.S. president has reaffirmed the support to Georgia`s NATO aspirations, on which the reaction of Georgian president was that it`s god that Georgia has this support, however, only America cannot decide Georgia`s membership and this is up to all other members of the Alliance. I can`t remember any country of the NATO, which obstructs to Georgia`s membership in the alliance as they all unanimously state that they support Georgia. I think that the only man who obstructs to this is Mikheil Saakashvili, who with his activities, especially in past few years, sharply halts the prospects of Georgia`s integration into NATO. Though the national TV channels try to show and convince the people that this meeting was the deserve of Saakashvili, it is easy to understand that it was the demonstration of respect towards Georgian people and our country, but in this meeting we could see the subtext that when Obama speaks about Saakashvili, he reminds him his hope that transfer of power will take place in Georgia via democratic and legal elections,` Ivanishvili said.
