MOSCOW, July 8. /TASS/. Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili will try to rise to power in Georgia by hook or by crook, while using Rustavi-2 TV channel as a tool of his policy, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Monday.

On Sunday, Giorgi Gabunia, the host of Georgia’s Rustavi-2 TV channel, went into a rant, spewing forth several crude comments about the Russian authorities in his Post Scriptum program. This escapade sparked backlash in Georgian society, with dozens of citizens gathering outside the headquarters of the opposition TV channel near Tbilisi to protest the host’s odious behavior.

In comment on her Facebook account about the insults against Russia’s leadership on Georgian television, the diplomat noted that Saakashvili’s election campaign has entered the "last-ditch battle" phase. "He will be trying to assume power by hook or by crook, in a harsh, cynical way and at whatever cost, even the cost of totally splitting the society," Zakharova noted.

The diplomat regretted that the Georgian people, traditions and culture have become "hostages to the idlers of politics." "All talk about traditions in Georgia are just talk. Unfortunately, today there are no traditions, which could serve as a basis and a pillar for the country and people in a place where laws still aren’t working," she said.

Zakharova was confident about Georgia’s possible revival. "I know people who honor their nation through their intellectual and physical work," the diplomat explained.