I am particularly offended by the talk of deoligarchization by internal and external opponents

Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili publishes an extensive letter in which he talks about the management of the Georgian Dream, the founder of the party and the current political situation.

Gharibashvili says that the "authors of the campaign" should explain what they mean when they talk about oligarchs and de-oligarchization. According to his statement, he advised the National Movement and its internal and external partners to get used to the current situation - peace, stability and double-digit economic growth.

According to Garibashvili, they must understand that no matter how much they want to, they cannot drag Georgia into war.

We offer the letter in full:

"I consider it my duty before the public to respond to the so-called deoligarchization campaign unleashed by our internal and external political opponents, which on one hand is a completely unsubstantiated accusation against Bidzina Ivanishvili and on the other hand is aimed at discrediting the existing governance system in Georgia.

Since they have no proof of Bidzina Ivanishvili's involvement in politics, the so-called "evidence" of oligarchic governance is often referred to as the fact that I and several leading members of our political team came into politics under his leadership.

First of all I would remind you that I got into "Kartu Group" through open competition and that's how I got acquainted with Bidzina Ivanishvili. Naturally, as a director of Kartu Charitable Foundation I was in close relations with him. Bidzina Ivanishvili's family and mine established friendly relations at the time, something my whole family is particularly proud of. Moreover, I am especially proud of my personal friendship with Bera. I would like to explain to the public that because of this relationship, our families periodically communicate with each other. For example, my wife recently received advice from the wife of Bidzina Ivanishvili on a medical issue. If I had such communication with Bidzina Ivanishvili from time to time, naturally there would be nothing to be shaken about.

When Bidzina Ivanishvili announced he was going into politics in 2011 I did not hesitate for a second. Of course I was aware of the risks of my decision. But not only because of my attitude towards Bidzina Ivanishvili, but taking into account the country's interests, I decided to take an active part in the struggle for transition to democracy without unnecessary hesitations.

Of course, apart from me many other representatives of the Kartu Group were also involved in that struggle, some of whom are still active members of our political team today. Threats and pressure tried not only to stop us, but also to dismantle the Kartu structures. But the team fought to the end, withstood the pressure and defeated the brutal regime.

There were those who could not withstand the pressure and not only failed to join the fight, but left Kartu, and some even left the country. However, due to the lack of personnel, Bidzina Ivanishvili commended the professionalism of some of them, such as Giorgi Kvirikashvili and Dimitri Kumsishvili, and even invited them to the new government in 2012.

No one can blame anyone for leaving Kartu in 2011-12, each of us had to face such pressure. As the public knows, immediately after joining political processes my father-in-law was arrested and told that he would be released only if I quit politics and leave Bidzina Ivanishvili's team.

People who ensured security of Bidzina Ivanishvili in 2011-2012 were under severe pressure by the regime that acted without any morals. Among them were Vakhtang Gomelauri and Anzor Chubinidze who were reprimanded in the past for protecting Ivanishvili's personal security by those people who were then fighting against Bidzina Ivanishvili and every one of us in every way immorally.

Of course, Bidzina Ivanishvili was the first to set an example of fight and fearlessness to his comrades every time, and this example strengthened the team most of all. However, the fight and courage of each team member should be said separately. It is often presented as if Bidzina Ivanishvili won elections and graciously gave out positions to team members. Of course Bidzina Ivanishvili's merits were bigger than any other member of the team, but I would like to remind everyone that Vakhtang Gomelauri, Anzor Chubinidze and others created their success in the civil service, first of all, due to their dedication and professionalism.

In 2012 I brought Vakhtang Gomelauri to the Interior Ministry as my deputy. Anzor Chubinidze, a very decent person and professional law enforcement officer, joined the civil service in 2012. When you are selecting personnel for the government, you naturally cannot involve people who you dont know, and first of all you rely on those people who have gone through the toughest struggle together with you and have coped with their work with high professionalism. From this point of view both Vakhtang Gomelauri and Anzor Chubinidze were outstanding and this is the result of the fact that they had held high positions in the government for so many years. A few weeks ago, when Vakhtang Gomelauri presented his report in parliament, the opposition could not ask a single correct question about the work of the Interior Ministry, which shows that he was doing his best.

The same should be said about Grigol Liluashvili, head of another law enforcement agency, who was at the forefront in 2011-2012 and today leads the State Security Service with a very high level of professionalism.

Naturally, when our internal or external political opponents talk about deoligarchization, I am particularly offended. According to constitutional theory and practice, the political leader of the country in a parliamentary republic is the prime minister, and he is responsible to the people for performing his functions regardless of any undue influence. When someone claims that the prime minister is part of a farce and is in fact led by someone who decided to quit politics last January, it offends not only me but also the state.

Naturally, our political team has a special attitude towards Bidzina Ivanishvili. The reason is not only because Bidzina Ivanishvili is a founder of our political team. He made a great sacrifice for the country in 2011, he brought a democratic transition to Georgia, and when he left politics he left us the right values and rules of the game to govern the country. Those values and rules of the game are love of country and respect for the law. However, these values and rules of the game we do not inherit from the former team leader. They are vital and organic to our entire political team.

The false accusation of oligarchic rule made by political opponents against Bidzina Ivanishvili, on the one hand, and the authorities, on the other, are totally incompatible with these rules left by Bidzina Ivanishvili.

I would like to remind the public that key state posts of Ministers of Defense, Foreign Affairs, Justice, Finance and Health are held today by the people whom Bidzina Ivanishvili has neither met nor known. Bidzina Ivanishvili has met most of the leaders of the parliamentary team, including the Chairman of the Parliament and the heads of several key committees, only on the day of their speech before the parliamentary elections. Talking about Bidzina Ivanishvili managing and controlling the government and the parliament at such a time is a total farce and absurd.

I would also like to remind you that even after leaving the team my predecessors Giorgi Gakharia and Giorgi Kvirikashvili were denying Bidzina Ivanishvili's interference in the Prime Minister's affairs.

Under such circumstances, an objective observer can only have a theoretical doubt that Bidzina Ivanishvili could have been involved in making any specific key decisions. In today's situation, there can only be two such key decisions: not to impose sanctions against Russia and not to drag the country into war.

I will not talk much about sanctions and war today. Like other members of our political team, I naturally have to be careful about certain issues. I will say only one thing: if anyone thinks that we did not impose sanctions at the behest of Bidzina Ivanishvili or did not join the war at his behest, they are very wrong. We do not need anyone's advice or dictation on this issue in the team. The reason is simple - we also love the country and we do not want to doom it to a fatal war. Accordingly, the team made decisions on these issues independently and unanimously.

The team does not make operational or key decisions at the behest of the former leader who has left politics. In this situation, the authors of the campaign should clarify what they mean when they talk about oligarchs and de-oligarchization.

Naturally, the factor of Bidzina Ivanishvili plays a serious role in the country. Speaking of his factor, I won't even mention charity. Bidzina Ivanishvili gained the love and respect from the team and society by his dedication and introduction of the new rules of the game, which worries our opponents so much. Our opponents cannot do anything about Bidzina Ivanishvili's past and the love and respect based on this past, which makes them desperate. Bidzina Ivanishvili is the direct antipode of the National Movement and its leaders, which people see and appreciate very well.

If the problem for them is Bidzina Ivanishvili’s factor and his existence, they should admit it. If the problem for them is the values and rules of the game left by Bidzina Ivanishvili - love of the motherland and respect for the law, they should admit this too. Both our team and society can have conscious or subconscious hope that, if necessary, Bidzina Ivanishvili will once again stand by our country. If our opponents see a problem in this, this also needs to be acknowledged.

Today Georgia is doing well on all fronts. Against the backdrop of a dire situation in the region and the whole continent, dire security and economic challenges, the permanent destruction of the radical opposition, Georgia has maintained peace, stability and double-digit economic growth. Of course, all this is thanks to the rules of the game that Bidzina Ivanishvili left for the country. If they call it oligarchization and want to punish Bidzina Ivanishvili for it, they should say so directly.

A prominent member of our society wrote a few days ago that Bidzina Ivanishvili, as a grandmaster of politics, has put the opposition in a vulnerable position. Indeed, he is not out of the game and is going over to our rivals. It is a situation when Bidzina Ivanishvili does not make moves and does not give his opponents a chance to make moves against the country.

Of course, the right analysis of the society is facilitated by such a situation. Society has gained a lot of experience over the past 30 years. Today people make a good choice between black and white, the rules of the game of the National Movement and the rules left by Bidzina Ivanishvili, who wants war and who wants peace for Georgia, who wants chaos and who wants stability, who wants regress and who wants progress and development of the country. That is why, despite the attack on the government from many sides, our political opponents have failed to mislead the people and win public support.

The rules of the game left by Bidzina Ivanishvili and public experience are two factors that leave no chance for our political opponents to succeed. Under such conditions, I would advise the National Movement and its internal and external partners to adapt to the current situation - peace, stability and double-digit economic growth. They have to understand that no matter how much they want to, they cannot drag Georgia into a war. They have to understand that when you don't have a move, it's better to change strategy and stop, leave the game for a new party," Irakli Garibashvili wrote.