Georgian Parliament Speaker calls Saakashvili “puppet leader” who used country as pawn in geopolitical confrontation

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday sharply criticised the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili, calling him a “puppet regime leader” who turned Georgia into a pawn in a major geopolitical confrontation involving numerous competing interests.

In his remarks, Papuashvili noted that it was important to pose the question - ‘Why did the 2008 August war start?’

“If there had been a patriotic government, rather than a puppet one that allowed others to use our country as a pawn, it would not have happened… There are many interests at play in global confrontation. We see this in the example of Ukraine. Even today, we hear loud statements that Ukraine is the frontline of Europe. But how many European or EU soldiers have you seen on that frontline? If this is the European Union’s frontline for defending against Russia, why don’t we see Lithuanian, Estonian, French, or German soldiers there?” the Speaker said.

Papuashvili also spoke about the courage of Georgian soldiers.

“A Georgian soldier enters every battle, like in Didgori, and is not afraid of numbers, circumstances, or the political context. This is a fight for your homeland, no matter what happens around you. This example was shown to us by the heroes of Shindisi”, he concluded.