TBILISI. Feb 27 (Interfax) - Russian banks have started buying Georgian banks, which could cause the Georgian economy serious problems, says Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.
"We might find ourselves in a very difficult situation. I did not have anything against Russian business in Georgia; on the contrary, I encouraged this, but it is another matter when our assets go into their hands. This means that an occupying country is directly enslaving the Georgian economy," Saakashvili said in an interview with Georgian media on Tuesday evening.
"Negotiations that were wrapped up several days ago resulted in buying one of the largest Georgian banks, Liberty Bank, by Russia's Sberbank," he said.
"One of Russia's major banks, Alfa Bank, is buying Georgia's TBC Bank now. Gazprombank is also coming here to buy several Georgian banks," he added.
This means that all assets held by these Georgian banks as security will go into the hands of Russian banks, Saakashvili said, adding that this worries him and should be discussed with the government.
Saakashvili cited Ukraine as an example, where, according to him, nearly 70% of assets belong to Russia, and "the West has a cold attitude toward Ukraine now."