On 11 March, Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili welcomed the appointment of Christian Danielson (Caucasus Watch reported) for the mediation of the political dialogue in the country, emphasising that he would present Georgia’s progress in front of the EU on 16 March.

“I would like to emphasise once again that we are ready to continue the constructive dialogue. We fully share the recommendations and advice of the Council of Europe that the government and the opposition should find common ground and reach an agreement as soon as possible so that the parliament can start working and return to normal political life. We should all be guided by the interests of the Georgian people and the state,” he stated. The Chairman of the parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee Nikoloz Samkharadze emphasised that the dialogue between the parties in the country might start this week. He also described Danielson’s appointment as a “good signal” that  indicates that the EU wants the environment in Georgia to be stable and peaceful.

However, some representatives of the opposition in Georgia expressed their dissatisfaction with the moves of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party in regard to the upcoming negotiations. The leader of Strategy Agmashenebeli Giorgi Vashadze said that the GD has been “dragging its feet” over the negotiations so far. “All unanimously support the release of political prisoners, and our European counterparts consider early elections to be the only way out of the crisis. I warn them on behalf of Strategy Agmashenebeli, if GD disrupts the talks, or delays it until March’s end, we will be in the forefront of a total resistance movement, of course, within the framework of the constitution and the law. This includes protest rallies across Georgia, activities in the international arena, many non-standard actions that have not been made public so far. Yes, we are ready to consider a plebiscite as a compromise proposal,” he stated. 

In the meantime, the son of GD’s former Chairman [Bidzina Ivanishvili] and Georgian hip-hop musician Bera Ivanishvili spoke on the audio recordings scandal, confirming the authenticity of the recording in a comment to Imedi TV. He said that the recordings were made in 2011 when he still was minor but added that he would repeat the same thing today and will answer anyone who speaks badly about his family. He added that in summer of 2011, he and his teenage fans were victims of bullying on Facebook – they were even threatened, so they were forced to seek help from Bera’s father. He accused the opposition United National Movement (UNM) party and the former government of recording the tapes, distributing them, and organising campaigns of threats and provocations on social media. Bera’s statements came after seven witnesses came forward levelling accusations of Bera’s abusive behaviour at that time.  

It should also be noted that the Georgian TV Pirveli released a statement that said the court allowed the prosecutor’s office to use materials from Bera Ivanishvili’s audio recordings that was aired on TV Pirveli. The broadcaster claimed that the prosecutor’s office did not request the scandalous audio recordings, but rather, an envelope and electronic information recording device.

“It is clear from the judge’s decision and the request of the prosecutor that their goal is not to investigate the facts cited in the journalistic investigation. The purpose of this is to reach the source somehow, directly or indirectly. It is our duty to protect the source to which we are entitled by law. We are allowed not to reveal information directly about the source but also, we are allowed not to give any indirect hints about the source,“ said Nodar Meladze, who is the author of the program, where the recordings aired.