Georgia, Tbilisi, Nov.28 / Trend, N. Kirtskhalia /
Former Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze hopes of billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili's victory at the 2012 parliamentary elections in Georgia.
"In his time relations with Russia will surely improve, as Ivanishvili lived in Russia for a long time and knows the mentality of this people, respect it and can speak the same language with its leaders, at the same time, he lived in Europe and therefore he knows well the democratic values," he said.
Shevardnadze does not agree with President Mikheil Saakashvili's claims about the imminent political collapse of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin nominated for presidential post in Russia.
"There have been disagreements between Medvedev and Putin, but now they have agreed and in 2012 Putin will assume presidential post, while Medvedev will be prime minister," former Georgian president said on Monday in an interview with the "Asaval-Dasavali" weekly.
Shevardnadze said that Putin-Medvedev duo will rule Russia for at least another 12 years and during this period any negotiations with Russia are out of the question. "Putin and Medvedev made it clear that they would not face Saakashvili, and it is a fact," he said.