“This madman is going to start war” - Imedi TV owner recalls warning received from Saakashvili’s US advisor Daniel Kunin

Speaking before the Georgian Parliament’s Temporary Investigative Commission, Imedi TV owner Irakli Rukhadze on Wednesday recalled a chilling warning he received shortly before the 2008 Russia-Georgia war from Daniel Kunin, an American advisor to then-President Mikheil Saakashvili.

In his remarks at a session of the Georgian Parliament’s Temporary Investigative Commission examining alleged crimes committed by the former United National Movement Government between 2003 and 2012, Rukhadze noted that both Kunin and the then-US Ambassador to Georgia warned him of an impending war in the lead-up to the 2008 Russo-Georgian conflict.

“This madman [Mikheil Saakashvili] is going to start a war, and take care of yourself, because he's going to do something terrible to us”, Rukhadze quoted Kunin as saying.

​​Rukhadze also spoke about his involvement with the US-Georgia Business Development Council - an organisation still active today - noting that it served as a form of protection for him.

According to him, the US Ambassador, who was the Council’s Honorary Chair, had also raised concerns about the potential for war during one of the meetings in 2008.

Rukhadze clarified that while the exact words “he is going to start a war” might not have been used, the Ambassador's message conveyed that they were facing “some kind of danger”.