TBILISI, DFWatch–President Saakashvili offers Prime Minister Ivanishvili to sign a common statement to NATO and the EU confirming their allegiance to a European and Euro-Atlantic political course.

A spokesperson for the prime minister told DF Watch that Ivanishvili has agreed to put his signature under the letter, but the idea is not Saakashvili’s, but rather originated with Linas Linkevičius, the foreign minister of Lithuania, who is visiting Tbilisi.

Saakashvili and his team have constantly been criticizing Ivanishvili’s Georgian Dream coalition for not sticking to the pro-western foreign policy of the previous government. However, the latter has always tried to prove the opposite, at least in verbal statements.

In the thorny political process of cohabitation, where the president and the government represent opposing political groups that constantly argue on almost all issues, both political blocs have tried to show that they make an effort to set their differences aside and cooperate, but so far without any tangible results.

A couple of days ago, the sides failed to reach a principal agreement on the vital issues of constitutional changes and granting amnesty for Saakashvili era nomenclature.

On Monday, Saakashvili and Ivanishvili met face-to-face for an hour, but according to the statements made after the meeting, they failed to achieve any real results.


On Tuesday, after a meeting with Linkevičius, President Saakashvili issued a statement offering his foe to sign a common letter to the West where they would pledge their allegiance to Western values and a pro-Western policy.

“It would be a demonstration of the unity of Georgian politicians,” Saakashvili said. “We want to be a part of Europe, to enter NATO and will put aside all differences when it comes to the future of Georgia.”

At the same time, the press office of the prime minister told DF Watch that the idea was discussed between Ivanishvili and Linkevičius before the latter met with the president. Linkevičius proposed the idea to Ivanishvili and got his consent about the common letter.

According Ivanishvili’s press office, the idea was then proposed to the president, who tried to present it to the prime minister as his own initiative.