Georgia: Billionaire Ivanishvili meets ruling party leaders - what is known about their talks after silent video release
Ivanishvili Georgian Dream meeting
On 17 October, a rare political event took place in Georgia.
Bidzina Ivanishvili, founder and honorary chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, chaired a meeting of the party’s political council, followed by a meeting of the parliamentary majority, at the party’s central office.
This was the first public appearance in several months by Ivanishvili, whom many consider Georgia’s “shadow” ruler.
Yet it could hardly be called an “appearance”. Ivanishvili himself said nothing to journalists. The party’s press office released only silent footage of the meetings.
What was discussed behind closed doors became known through three sources: Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s briefing, the party’s written statement, and a brief comment by parliamentary majority leader Irakli Kirtskhalia.
According to Kobakhidze, Ivanishvili expressed “heartache” over his imprisoned former teammates. The party statement, however, presented the subject in a different tone: the corruption challenges within the team had been “fully and effectively” overcome.
While the meetings were underway, citizens protested outside the building under the slogan “Georgia against Ivanishvili”. They held banners and flags. One banner read “Being a Georgian Dream supporter = betraying the country”, another “14 bloody years”.
Who joined the political council
The only publicly announced decision from the meetings was to expand the political council. Parliamentary majority leader Irakli Kirtskhalia and Zurab Pataradze, head of the government of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, joined the body.
Footage released by the press office shows Ivanishvili entering the meeting, shaking hands with MPs and taking his seat. Kobakhidze, parliamentary speaker Shalva Papuashvili, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze and Kirtskhalia sat beside him at the head table. Ministers were also present.
According to Kobakhidze, both meetings addressed current domestic and foreign policy issues. The party statement referred to “political and economic processes” in the country. It also said time was devoted to initiatives and reforms recently announced by the government.
The backdrop to Georgian Dream’s meetings
Bidzina Ivanishvili rarely appears in public. He has been under US sanctions since 2024.
His participation in the party meetings coincides with a crisis within the governing team, as former senior Georgian Dream officials have been arrested one after another on corruption charges.
The most high-profile case concerns former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili. In January 2026, he was sentenced to five years in prison under a plea agreement. In August, prosecutors brought a new bribery charge against him. Garibashvili has been publishing letters from prison accusing Kobakhidze and Mdinaradze. On August 27, Mamuka Mdinaradze resigned from his post and announced his departure from politics. He denied any connection to the letters.
The meetings took place days before hearings on a lawsuit seeking to ban opposition parties. Georgian Dream filed the lawsuit with the Constitutional Court. According to opposition representatives, hearings were scheduled for October 21, 22 and 23. An alliance of nine parties announced a rally in Tbilisi on October 25 under the slogan “Georgia without Ivanishvili. Georgia deserves better”.
Garibashvili: “heartache” and “overcome challenges
Journalists asked Kobakhidze whether there had been any discussion of releasing former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili through any mechanism. Kobakhidze replied that there had not. According to him, Ivanishvili gave a general assessment of “the developments”.
“For all of us, including, of course, first and foremost, Bidzina Ivanishvili, what happened is painful, when events unfold this way and former members of the team are serving sentences for specific crimes (…)”, Kobakhidze said.
He added: “What happened is regrettable. It was, of course, something of a blow to the team.”
Garibashvili was sentenced to five years in prison in January 2026 following a plea agreement. In August, prosecutors brought a new charge against him. According to the prosecution, the former prime minister accepted GEL 750,000 in bribes. Garibashvili’s lawyers say he denies the new charge.
There is no mention of “heartache” in the party statement’s account of the same subject. According to the statement, Ivanishvili reviewed the corruption challenges the team had faced in the past and said that “as a result of the effective work of the prime minister, the government team and the security apparatus, these challenges have been fully and effectively overcome”.
Kobakhidze: “Friendship is none of your business
According to Kobakhidze, the team also discussed former State Security Service chief Mamuka Mdinaradze. Mdinaradze resigned from his post on August 27 and announced his departure from politics. At the time, he denied that his resignation was connected to Garibashvili’s letters published from prison.
Kobakhidze declined to elaborate publicly. “Mamuka Mdinaradze has left politics”, he said, adding that he did not consider it appropriate to bring the issue to the fore in these circumstances. He said he remained in occasional contact with Mdinaradze. He did not give a direct answer when asked whether they were still friends.
“Why are you asking about friendship? Friendship is none of your business”, he told journalists.
Journalists also mentioned a post by Georgian Dream member Dito Samkharadze.
In that post, Samkharadze wrote about “rats” exposed within the party. Kobakhidze was asked whether Samkharadze also meant Mdinaradze and whether legal proceedings against him were expected.
“I don’t know who read what into it”, the prime minister replied. He said there was “no basis whatsoever” for such speculation.
Kirtskhalia: Ivanishvili devoted the most time to Kobakhidze
After the meetings, Kirtskhalia responded to rumours about the prime minister’s resignation. He said Ivanishvili had spoken extensively about Kobakhidze and devoted the most time to him.
“Of course, the team joins Bidzina Ivanishvili in expressing support and praise for Irakli Kobakhidze, because under his leadership the Georgian government is working very well. Not only is there no reason whatsoever for his resignation, but absolutely every passing day confirms that he is the best prime minister”, Kirtskhalia said.
He described the resignation rumours as gossip spread by the opposition.
“When this is the situation and everyone sees what a decent, hardworking and honest prime minister the country has, yet the opposition continues to spread such rumours, it is very clear where they stand and what state they are in”, Kirtskhalia said.
The patriarch’s funeral expenses
At the briefing, Kobakhidze also addressed a major political issue: the patriarch’s funeral expenses. He said preliminary information from the Government Administration showed “no indication of any improper expenditure”. He also said a large portion of the allocated funds had been returned.
In September, speaking on Rustavi 2, Kobakhidze provided specific figures: according to preliminary data, GEL 722,000 of the GEL 3 million allocated had been spent. The questions he was answering at the time concerned former Culture Minister Tika Rukhadze.
Kobakhidze said detailed information would be presented to the public in the near future. Asked whether investigative agencies should look into the matter, he replied:
“First, we will present detailed information to you, and if any questions remain on this issue, let us discuss them together, and we can refer the matter to any agency.”
“We win either way” – Kobakhidze on media regulation
Kobakhidze was also asked about media regulation by the Communications Commission. He explained it as the enforcement of impartiality standards. He said these rules had existed in legislation for years, but an enforcement mechanism had not previously been in place. News broadcasts are now subject to an enforceable neutrality requirement. That requirement does not apply to programmes expressing their hosts’ own views.
“Nothing bothers us. We win elections and emerge victorious from every political confrontation. Whether they call us a regime or a dictatorship, we win either way”, Kobakhidze said.
On October 9, Transparency International Georgia reported that the commission had objected to the use of 93 words and phrases in violation reports drawn up against Formula and TV Pirveli. According to the organisation, these included “regime”, “oligarch” and “Ivanishvili’s prime minister”, while fines had risen to GEL 10,000.
