On the 16th anniversary of the Russia-Georgia August War, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze visited the Mukhatghedi Brothers’ Cemetery, where soldiers who perished in the conflict are laid to rest.
While there, Kobakhidze addressed journalists, placing the blame for the outbreak of the 2008 war squarely on the shoulders of then-President Mikheil Saakashvili and his United National Movement party.
Kobakhidze claimed that the UNM signed a European Council resolution that he believed directly triggered the conflict. “The ‘National Movement’ signed the European Council resolution, which led to the start of the August war. It is crucial that the crime committed by Saakashvili and the UNM regime in 2008 be thoroughly investigated,” he said.
When pressed on the legal actions that the ruling Georgian Dream party planned to take against the UNM, Kobakhidze emphasized that all options, including an appeal to the Constitutional Court, were being considered. “We will consider all legal avenues. The public will be informed of all developments, but the primary focus remains on fully investigating the 2008 crime,” he added.
Kobakhidze reiterated his party’s stance that Georgian forces acted in response to a pre-existing military attack by Russian peacekeepers on Georgian territory, which escalated on the night of August 7, 2008. This narrative countered the Russian account, which asserted that Tbilisi initiated the conflict by attacking “sleeping Tskhinvali,” prompting a full-scale war by the Kremlin.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague cleared Georgia of responsibility in its 2022 investigation into the August 2008 war. In response to Kobakhidze’s remarks, Zurab Chiaberashvili, a member of the UNM dismissed the accusations as an echo of Russian propaganda. “Russian propaganda claims that Georgia initiated the armed conflict, which is false. On August 7, Russian armed forces were already on Georgian territory, as documented,” Chiaberashvili stressed.
The August War, which took place 16 years ago, saw the deaths of 228 Georgian civilians, 14 policemen, and 169 servicemembers, with 1,747 people wounded. Nearly 150,000 people were displaced, and 30,000 remain in exile. As a result of the conflict, Georgia lost control over 189 villages, 125 of which remain under Russian occupation.
