Irakli Garibashvili: 'Reckless Politics and Uncalculated Steps Led to the Tragic War'

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has highlighted the reasons behind the military conflict of 2008, as quoted by TASS.

“The reckless politics of former President Mikheil Saakashvili, along with his uncalculated and provocative steps, led to the fact that they could not avoid this tragic war,” said the Prime Minister, accusing the former leader and his team of betraying the Georgian people.

Garibashvili also expressed his intention to reclaim the occupied territories of the country. According to him, Georgia will choose a peaceful and sensible political approach for this purpose.

The Prime Minister made these statements on the occasion of the 14th anniversary of the outbreak of military operations in South Ossetia. In August 2008, Georgia attempted to regain control over South Ossetia, which had declared independence in the 1990s. At that time, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced the start of a special operation to enforce peace in Tbilisi. On August 12, the conflicting parties reached an agreement on ceasefire conditions. Later, Russia recognized the independence of South Ossetia.