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Georgian ex-minister decides to set up pro-Russian party

It is necessary to implement tasks in which the interests of the two countries coincide, the politician believes

TBILISI, March 10 (Itar-Tass) – Georgia’s former minister of state security, Valery Khaburdzaniya, has decided to set up a pro-Russian party.

“Georgia has pro-Western, pro-American parties and political forces, then why not have pro-Russian parties, and have political rivalry” among these forces, Khaburdzaniya told reporters on Sunday.

According to him, this does not mean that the party will seek to pursue a policy in the interests of Russia. It is necessary to implement tasks in which the interests of the two countries coincide, the politician believes.

He noted that “there are certain parties and political forces in Georgia that are really pro-Russian, but for different reasons they don’t say this out loud”.

“We, for our part, want that no one be ashamed of this word and we want to see a real competition between the pro-American and pro-Russian parties,” the ex-minister explained.

In 1992-1997 Khaburdzaniya worked at the Georgian State Security Ministry, and then - at the country’s Security Council, and also was parliamentary secretary of then President Eduard Shevardnadze. In 2001-2003 he was security minister, and from February 2004 he worked for several months as first deputy prosecutor general. Then he left for Russia and engaged in business activity. At the beginning of 2013, he returned to Georgia for the first time since then. He states that within the next few months he will return to Georgia, will domicile in Tbilisi and will engage in political activity.

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