Georgia started war with South Ossetia 'on orders from abroad': PM
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Authorities ruling before Saakashvili were seeking "mutual forgiveness and reconciliation" with the Ossetians for the 2008 war, until he came into power and started the conflict, according to PM Kobakhidze.
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Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze speaks to journalists after a meeting in Tbilisi, Georgia, on February 1, 2024. (AP)
Georgia started a war with its neighbor South Ossetia in 2008 "on orders from abroad," Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said on Tuesday.
The leader stated in a press conference in the capital city of Tbilisi that former president Mikheil Saakashvili "was implementing the task that he received from outside."
Kobakhidze added that the authorities in power before Saakashvili, who headed the opposition, were seeking "mutual forgiveness and reconciliation" with the Ossetians.
"Mutual forgiveness and reconciliation contradict the purpose for which the regime of the (United) National Movement [Saakashvili's party] in 2008 fulfilled the task from the outside and started the war. It is the theme of reconciliation, not the outbreak of war, that is tragic for the radical opposition," he said.
Ivanishvili accuses National Movement of starting 2008 war
Just days ago, Georgia's former prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili accused the National Movement opposition party of inciting the 2008 war in South Ossetia, highlighting the country will find the strength to apologize for the "bloody conflict" while seeking to restore trust and unity between the two nations.
The pro-Western opposition party was founded by Saakashvili, who served as Georgia's president from 2004 to 2013. The former leader sent troops into the breakaway region of Ossetia in August 2008, shelling a Russian base that had been used by peacekeepers since 1990, essentially igniting a war on the territory.
Russia retaliated with an operation that saw the defeat of Georgian forces, after which it recognized the independence of both South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another breakaway region.
Saakashvili is currently serving a six-year prison sentence due to abuse of power-related charges after he was ousted from office in 2013.
