After resigning, Defence Minister Irakli Alasaniya states political crisis in Georgia

Irakli Alasaniya, the leader of the "Our Georgia – Free Democrats" Party, has resigned from the post of the Defence Minister and stated that Georgia is in political crisis.

On Tuesday, November 4, the Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili dismissed his Defence minister Irakli Alasaniya. According to Garibashvili, Alasaniya was dismissed for an attempt to politicize the investigation of a corruption case in the Ministry of Defence (MoD), and for the admitted violations in the sphere of procurements. After Alasaniya's dismissal, Alexi Petriashvili, the State Minister of Georgia for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, has also resigned.

Alasaniya has promised that he will "continue fighting for the course towards European integration and the pursuit to join the NATO." He also called on the Georgia's pro-Western forces "to unite in order to confront the pro-Russian forces in the government." He added that Russia has a "plan of destructing those state institutions, which ensure Georgia's integration with Europe and NATO."

The Georgia's President Georgi Margvelashvili, who is on his official visit to Austria, has reacted to the Alasaniya's resignation by stating that the current situation "poses a threat to the Euro-Atlantic integration" and Georgian army.

In the opinion of Soso Tsiskarishvili, the president of the "Club of Independent Experts", by dismissing Alasaniya, the Georgian authorities have "committed an act of political self-immolation."

He believes added that Alasaniya's dismissal was caused by "his pro-Western orientation and active work towards reforming the Georgian army."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.