TBILISI. Oct 17 (Interfax) - Billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, who was stripped of Georgian citizenship by President Mikheil Saakashvili, continues drawing support from opposition parties.
A leader of the National Forum opposition party, Grubaz Sanikidze, told journalists on Monday that he had met with Ivanishvili and discussed cooperation with him.
"At Ivanishvili's proposal, a member of our party's executive board, an ex-finance minister Nodar Dzhavakhishvili, will take charge of the his financial-industrial association in Georgia, Kartu Group. We welcome this decision" said Sanikidze.
Ivanishvili met with the leaders of the Republican Party and with the Free Democrats party last week and negotiated a cooperation deal with them.
Meanwhile, other Georgian opposition leaders, with whom Ivanishvili had refused to cooperate, described him as the United States' placeman.
"Now that the bankrupt Saakashvili has finally discredited himself, Washington has prepared a replacement for him - Ivanishvili. But this will not change anything for the Georgian people," Labor Party leader Shalva Natelashvili told reporters on Monday.