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 Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgia's ex-president who served 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.

Saakashvili responsible for the 2008 war,  12-year investigation reveals

Ivanishvili, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, stated at an election campaign event on Saturday that a 12-year investigation concluded the war “provoked by Saakashvili’s criminal regime” with “outside” assistance, aimed at damaging national unity.

The Georgian government complied several pieces of evidence, according to Ivanishvili, indicating the National Movement party started the war and committed "the worst crime."

“We were well aware that all this was a well-planned provocation from the outside against the Georgian and Ossetian people, the purpose of which was to split our unity, destroy relations, and make us exist in conditions of endless, artificial confrontation,” Ivanishvili stated.

The politician underlined the importance of recognizing past mistakes and re-establishing territorial integrity, as well as “the centuries-old brotherhood and friendship between Georgians and Ossetians.”

Ivanishvili denounced the “instigator of the war," and pledged to bring the parties responsible for deteriorating the relations between the nations to justice.

“We will definitely find the strength to apologize for the flames which enveloped our Ossetian brothers and sisters in 2008 on the orders of the traitorous National Movement,” he added, pledging that party officials will face a Georgian “Nuremberg process,” alluding to the post-WWII trials of Nazi war criminals.

Last month, the government announced plans to establish a parliamentary commission to review the 2008 events, stating that Saakashvili’s actions were based on instructions “from the outside,” deemed as “a well-planned betrayal.” The former leader could potentially face additional treason charges, resulting in life imprisonment.

US plans to support Georgian opposition protests during elections: SVR

The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said on Wednesday it had obtained evidence that the US Department of State was planning to assist the Georgian opposition in seizing power by providing a pretext for protests around the time of the October 26 legislative elections.

"Washington's plan is clear and no longer surprising — it is to give the pro-Western Georgian opposition a reason to stage mass protests to seize power in the country by force," the agency said in a statement.

The SVR said that the US had the support of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), which is expected to release an interim report on Georgia's electoral process weeks before the election.

This report is predicted to accuse the Georgian Dream-led government of failing to ensure a free and fair election.

After the vote, ODIHR is expected to declare the election undemocratic.