Georgian PM: Russia occupied 20% of Georgia’s territory, Saakashvili regime’s betrayal cannot overshadow this crime

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Saturday blamed former President Mikheil Saakashvili’s government for starting the 2008 Russia-Georgia war, while stressing that Russia’s subsequent occupation of Georgian territory remains a separate and serious crime.

“We blame Saakashvili’s bloody regime for starting the war. At that time, the country formally had a treacherous commander-in-chief”, Kobakhidze told journalists.

According to the Prime Minister, Saakashvili and his United National Movement government’s responsibility for the outbreak of the war cannot “in any way overshadow” Russia’s occupation of Georgian territory.

“Russia carried out the occupation of 20% of Georgia’s territories, and, of course, the betrayal of Saakashvili, his regime and the National Movement cannot in any way overshadow this crime”, Kobakhidze said.

He argued that both developments must be assessed separately.

“On the one hand, there was the betrayal of Saakashvili and his regime. On the other hand, there was the occupation carried out by the Russian Federation. It is important that we properly assess both facts”, he said.

Kobakhidze also claimed that the occupation and Russia’s subsequent recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia were consequences of the 2008 war.

He further accused Saakashvili of coming to power through widespread fraud in the 2008 presidential election, citing election results in Marneuli as an example.

“Saakashvili was a foreign agent put in power through fraud, and this foreign agent then carried out an assignment. He and his bloody regime started the war, which was followed by a very grave continuation”, Kobakhidze said.

The Prime Minister also rejected any comparison between Saakashvili and Georgia, saying: “God forbid that Saakashvili, this bloody, dirty foreign agent, and Georgia should be one and the same”.