Ongoing “stir” and “hysteria” over the Ministry of Defense is “incomprehensible” and it should end, PM Irakli Garibashvili said at a government session on December 24, which was also attended by Defense Mindia Janelidze.

MoD has become embroiled in a scandal after its controversial statement on death of a Georgian fighter in Ukraine and its consequent reaction on this controversy in which MoD leadership tried to distance itself from the statement, shifting responsibility on unspecified, lower level ministry officials.

• Questions Linger over Scandal-Hit MoD Leadership
• MoD Apologizes, Says Leadership Was Not Aware of Statement
• MoD Under Fire Over its Controversial Statement
• Georgian MoD Statement on Death of Georgian Fighting for Ukraine
• Georgian Volunteer Fighter Killed Fighting for Ukraine

Defense Minister Janelidze has not yet made any public comment and his silence on the issue has become a source of criticism even for some GD ruling coalition members. Opposition UNM has called for resignation of the Defense Minister.

“Stir around MoD’s statement and calls for resignation of batoni [a Georgian polite form of addressing a man] Mindia [Janelidze] is completely incomprehensible for me; I think this is not a serious talk and I want to call everyone that perhaps it would be more reasonable to put an end to such talk and this hysteria,” PM Garibashvili said.

“The fact that UNM’s call has caused such a stir is very irrelevant, as well as insulting and underrating for our Defense Ministry,” he said.