FILE PHOTO: Georgia's Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili leaves after a family photo in Tbilisi, Georgia, May 26, 2018. REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili/File Photo

TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili resigned on Wednesday amid a disagreement with the leader of the ruling party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, who is a former prime minister and the ex-Soviet country’s richest man.

“We’ve had some disagreements with the leader of the ruling party,” Kvirikashvili said in a televised statement. “I think there is a moment now when the leader of the (ruling) party should be given an opportunity to staff a new cabinet.”

Kvirikashvili, 50, has been prime minister since 2015.