European Parliament Approves Resolution on Sanctioning Bidzina Ivanishvili and Transferring Mikheil Saakashvili Abroad
By Liza Mchedlidze
Thursday, February 16, 2023
The European Parliament adopted a resolution on Mikheil Saakashvili, the third president of Georgia. 577 members supported the resolution, and 33 went against it. The resolution refers to Saakashvili's health condition and the situation created around him.
The resolution noted that recent medical reports have expressed concern that Mikheil Saakashvili's condition may deteriorate irreversibly. American doctors said that medical studies also indicate traces of heavy metals and other agents in his body, which may be the result of poisoning.
The resolution of the European Parliament also mentioned that on December 14, 2022, they already called on the Georgian authorities to release him on humanitarian grounds and allow him to be medically treated abroad.
The assessment expressed in the previous resolution is repeated by the European Parliament in the new resolution and again calls on the authorities to allow the third president of Georgia to undergo treatment abroad.
At the same time, the European Parliament also supported the amendment regarding the sanctioning of Bidzina Ivanishvili. 362 members of the European Parliament supported the record on Ivanishvili, 121 were opposed, and 151 abstained.
According to the amendment, the European Parliament called Bidzina Ivanishvili an 'oligarch' and noted that his personal role in the situation created around Saakashvili is big. Therefore, the European Parliament calls on the European Council to consider imposing sanctions on Ivanishvili.
With a new resolution, the European Parliament also calls on the President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili to use her authority to ease this situation and pardon Saakashvili.
The resolution mentions that the situation created around Saakashvili deepens political polarization, which hinders Georgia's aspiration to the Euro-Atlantic path.
