"Am I able to carry your husband out of a fire? He got himself in the wrong place."

Former Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili held an emergency briefing in Tbilisi, where she presented her new office, saying she will continue to perform "the functions of the president" despite the deep political crisis in the country. According to her, the new office, located on Choselidze Street in central Tbilisi, is a symbolic continuation of the Orbeliani Palace, where the presidential residence was previously located.

"I want to receive you today in this new office, which is a continuation of the Orbeliani Palace. It may not look like the Orbeliani Palace, but its soul and spirit are here, and the president's functions will continue here," Zurabishvili said.

At the briefing, she sharply criticized the current government, saying that the country is in a state of deep crisis. According to her, the Georgian Constitution has been "trampled", the judicial system has completely lost its independence, and the parliament and government are illegitimate.

"The constitution has been trampled, the court no longer exists, we have a de facto government. There is no justice in this country anymore," Zurabishvili stressed. She also accused the ruling Georgian Dream party of ignoring human rights, freedom of speech and the will of the people.

According to her, the judicial system, which should be the foundation of a democratic state, has been completely destroyed. “The court no longer exists. This became obvious during the elections, when, with rare exceptions, not a single court satisfied the plaintiffs’ demands. All levels of justice have been taken away from the people, and justice is unattainable in this country, which effectively means the collapse of the democratic system,” she said.

Zurabishvili also noted that the country is on the verge of collapse, and the only way out of the crisis is through repeat parliamentary elections. She stressed that she will continue her activities as president and intends to meet with the population to discuss ways out of the current situation. In particular, on January 10, she plans to visit the city of Zugdidi in the west of the country.

“I am the president and I will be the president,” Zurabishvili said, adding that her mission is to protect the interests of the people and restore democratic institutions. During the briefing, she held the flags of Georgia and the European Union, as well as the presidential standard, behind her, which emphasized her intention to continue to perform presidential functions. The new office, she said, will be a place where the “spirit and intention” of presidential power will be preserved, despite the crisis in the country.