Georgia names person responsible for 2008 war with Russia

Former Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili was responsible for the country’s conflict with Russia in 2008, and acted on instructions from external forces, the ruling party in the former Soviet state has said.

The five-day war erupted on the night of August 8, 2008, when US-backed Saakashvili sent troops into Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia, shelling a base used by Russian peacekeepers who had been in the republic since the 1990s.

Then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered a “peace enforcement” operation in response, which led to the defeat of Tbilisi’s forces. On August 26, Moscow recognized the independence of South Ossetia and another breakaway region, Abkhazia.

The political council of the ruling Georgian Dream party said in a statement on Tuesday that a public legal process was necessary to establish “who committed a treacherous crime against our country and people [in 2008].” This was required in the interests of long-term peace and stability, the party stated.

“The majority of Georgian society rightly doubts Saakashvili’s adequacy. However, the fact is that Saakashvili’s reckless actions in August 2008 were not a result of his mental instability, but a result of the instructions from the outside and a well-planned betrayal,” the statement read.

Georgian Dream did not identify the external forces that it claims directed the actions of the Georgian president 16 years ago.

Last week, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said the government would address the Prosecutor’s Office, the Constitutional Court, or set up a parliamentary commission to look into the events of 2008. According to Kobakhidze, Saakashvili, who is serving a six-year prison sentence, could face additional charges of treason over his role in the conflict with Russia. Such an offense carries a maximum punishment of life in prison.

Saakashvili was voted out of office in 2013 and fled to the US. He also has a Ukrainian passport, which he obtained during a brief stint as governor of the country’s Odessa Region in 2015-16.

The former president was detained in October 2021 after secretly returning to Georgia during an election in the country. The authorities in Tbilisi accused Saakashvili of abuse of power, organizing attacks on political opponents, embezzlement, and other offenses during his time in office between 2004 and 2013.

The 56-year-old has remained in hospital in the Georgian capital since March 2022 due to deteriorating health. Saakashvili insists that the prosecution is politically motivated. His lawyers claim that the politician, who has lost a significant amount of weight in custody, is not receiving adequate medical care.