Tbilisi - Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said he has no plans to exercise his right to dissolve the parliament and dismiss the government.
“Speculation that I might exercise my presidential right and dissolve the parliament and dismiss the government is unacceptable for me. This is not true,” Saakashvili said at a briefing on Monday after the meeting with Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili.
Saakashvili called out to stop all the talks that he might have such intentions.
The new Georgian government has been recently elected and has not worked long enough to evaluate it adequately, Saakashvili said.
The Georgian president said that he has presented Ivanishvili with his opinion on how the cooperation between them might develop.
Regardless of fundamental disagreements with the Georgian prime minister, such meetings are necessary, Saakashvili said.
“The only reason why I remain the president while I can’t do a lot is that I think it’s necessary to keep democratic framework, constitutional stability and to achieve civilized relations with opponents. I currently see this as my role and duty,” Saakashvili said.
Saakashvili said that right now he did not feel comfortable being the president. “My schedule is empty now. Doing nothing is a real burden for me. To be honest, I can’t say that I feel very comfortable in this position right now,” the Georgian president said.
Saakashvili said that he gave his three main conditions for further political dialog, including the changes to the Georgian constitution.
The Georgian president said that it was necessary to preserve free and independent courts and to stop the pressure on media and political pursuit of opponents.
“No one is to control the court system. This is my main demand,” Saakashvili said.
Saakashvili said that “the country is to have an alternative opinion” and the pursuit of members of his United National Movement was to be stopped.
The Georgian president said that he was ready for further dialog on constitutional changes and hoped that the parties would eventually find a common language. Such decisions should be made by consensus, not ultimatum, he said.
