President Giorgi Margvelashvili said that “problems have been created” to the operation of Rustavi 2 TV, which is locked in a court battle over ownership dispute.

Rustavi 2 TV said on October 1 that a new court injunction in an ongoing ownership dispute, has effectively cut off a USD 6 million lifeline investment needed for sustaining broadcaster’s smooth operations. Rustavi 2 TV claims that a lawsuit by one of its former co-owners and consequent asset freeze – ordered by the court at first in respect of Rustavi 2 TV itself and then in respect of broadcaster’s majority shareholder company – is government orchestrated move aimed at taking over the opposition-minded television station.

“Problems have been created in recent days to a smooth operation of Rustavi 2 TV. It happens against the backdrop of developments in the Georgian media over which serious questions have been asked, but no convincing answers received yet,” Margvelashvili said on October 2, apparently referring to his previous statement, when he said in late August, following Imedi TV’s decision to suspend political talk shows, that there was a “worrying trend” in the media.

“I call on all the sides, to whom it concerns directly or indirectly, to give clear answers to the questions and to remember, that the free media is the supreme value of the modem Georgian state,” the President said.