Georgian PM: no one blames Georgia - United National Movement started war

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Tuesday said that no one was blaming Georgia or the Georgian side for the 2008 war or past crimes, placing sole responsibility on the United National Movement, which he noted started the war that ended in tragedy for the country.

In his remarks, Kobakhidze emphasised that criticism was directed exclusively at the United National Movement and its regime, not at Georgia as a country.

“No one is blaming the Georgian side. We are blaming your party [United National Movement], and only your party, for the adventure it undertook at the behest of external forces. No one is blaming Georgia or the Georgian side”, he said.

The Prime Minister recalled the killings of Sandro Girgvliani and Buta Robakidze as acts committed by the UNM, not by the Georgian people or state.

“When your party killed Sandro Girgvliani and Buta Robakidze, it was not Georgia that killed Girgvliani or Robakidze - your party did, your regime did. Your party [United National Movement] started the war that ended in tragedy for our country”, Kobakhidze concluded.

According to the government’s assessment, the opposition is seeking to deflect attention from its own responsibility, including over a Council of Europe resolution that was supported by the United National Movement and which, the government claims, attributed responsibility for starting the war to Georgia and accused Georgian servicemen of war crimes.