Saakashvili Slammed Ministers for Sparring Publicly
President Mikheil Saakashvili convened Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili and State Minister Giorgi Baramidze on January 6 and warned them that he will not tolerate disagreements within the cabinet.
?I am not going to tolerate sparring between the members of government. Both of you are my friends, but if you want to deal with each other through press conferences, then our door is open and you are free to go,? President Saakashvili said during the meeting with Defense and State Ministers. Part of this meeting was broadcasted by the Georgian televisions.
Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili blamed at a news briefing on January 4 several former and serving defense officials of misappropriation of funds. In response former Defense Minister Giorgi Baramidze who now is the State Minister in charge of Euro-Atlantic integration issues accused Okruashvili at the news conference on January 6 of ?intrigues? against him and triggering split in the cabinet.
President Saakashvili expressed regret that the disagreement broke up as soon as he left for Ukraine on December 31. ?I hope no more incidents of this kind will follow by next departure,? he added.
