Georgia’s president blames 2008 government for failing to prevent war with Russia

Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili on Saturday said that the government in power in 2008 failed to prevent the war with Russia.

Kavelashvili, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili visited the Mukhatgverdi Brothers Cemetery near Tbilisi, where Georgian soldiers are buried, on the 18th anniversary of the five-day war.

Speaking to reporters, Kavelashvili accused then-President Mikheil Saakashvili and his government of treason.

“Eighteen years ago, our state was governed by a completely powerless government that could not prevent the state of war and the tragedy that ensued. This is their personal responsibility,” he said.

Kavelashvili said Georgia remained committed to restoring its territorial integrity through peaceful means, referring to his country’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as territories under Russian occupation.

“Everyone in the world should acknowledge that not a single Georgian citizen will ever admit Georgia without these territories; this is an axiom, and nobody rejects it,” he said.

Kobakhidze said Russia occupies 20% of Georgia‘s territory and described the occupation as a crime.

He blamed Saakashvili’s “bloody regime” for initiating the war, calling the former president a “traitor” and a “foreign agent.”

“I reiterate once again that the treachery of Saakashvili and his regime cannot in any way cover up the occupation, because the occupation of our territories was carried out by the Russian Federation. This is a proven fact,” he said.

Papuashvili also criticized Saakashvili, saying: “If there was no war in 2008, there would most likely be no war in Ukraine.”

In August 2008, a five-day conflict broke out between Georgia and Russia over the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Georgia lost control of both regions, which Russia recognized as independent states later that month. In response, Tbilisi severed diplomatic relations with Moscow.

Both regions remain internationally recognized as Georgian territories, including by Türkiye.