The Executive Secretary of the Georgian Dream called on the leader of the Droa opposition party to disclose information about the money received by her from Russia and transfer the funds to help Ukraine amid the Russian invasion.
As Mamuka Mdinaradze added, “it would be great if Elene Khoshtaria transferred the money to the Ukrainian Aid Fund”.
“Information about the Russian income of Elene Khoshtaria’s family has been actively spread in recent days, however, all broadcasting companies owned by the United National Movement and funded by Georgian oligarchs are trying to hide and conceal this story.
We are not surprised by this, because they had been hiding not for days, but for years, for example, the record of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe that was supported by the UNM and that blamed the Georgian military for starting the war and bombing the civilian population in Tskhinvali region.
In a word, the people who allege to be pro-European and portray themselves as the flagships of the anti-occupation movement, carefully conceal the evidence of ties with the Russian Federation, but actively invent and spread similar stories.
The society has not yet received an answer to a question why [Elene] Khoshtaria’s family has been receiving millions of Russian rubles over the years, including after the 2008 Russian occupation and the start of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
When a person convinces the public that everything Russian is unacceptable to her and at the same time does not refuse to get Russian money, it is at least an infallible proof of double standards. Beyond that, the suspicion grows when we remember that Elene Khoshtaria was one of the organizers of all the provocations that benefited Russia in recent years.
We all remember her actions exactly 3 years ago, on June 20 [2019], which finally allowed Russia to ban flights to Georgia and deal a severe economic blow to the country.
We all remember her actions against 80-year-old [Russian Journalist Vladimir] Pozner, fueling Russia’s aggressive rhetoric against Georgia.
Her father’s past heightens doubts. Zviad Gamsakhurdia actively spoke about it. Also, [Elene] Khoshtaria graduated from MGIMO [Moscow State Institute of International Relations] and is a Russian international security specialist.
The fact is that her actions have served the interests of Russia’s international security all these years.
If [Elene] Khoshtaria and her family refuse to disclose the money transferred from Russia, it will become indisputable that we are dealing with a case that should be investigated by the relevant bodies so that the Georgian state can guard itself against the influence of the Russian soft power”, - concluded Mamuka Mdinaradze.