Georgian vice-PM honours Shindisi heroes, accuses UNM of blaming Georgian troops for war crimes

Georgian Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Regional Development Mamuka Mdinaradze has paid tribute to the soldiers killed in the 2008 Battle of Shindisi, saying their sacrifice should inspire future generations.

Speaking to reporters in Shindisi on Tuesday, Mdinaradze said the soldiers and the story of their heroism represented a source of "Georgian heroic spirit and spirituality" for the country's children and future generations.

He also accused former ruling party United National Movement officials of blaming Georgian soldiers for war crimes during the conflict in the currently Russian-occupied Abkhazia region in the 1990s. 

Mdinaradze said the UNM government had endorsed what he called a "treacherous resolution" two months after the war, arguing that this had created risks for Georgia at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

He said former president Mikheil Saakashvili had ordered shelling towards Tskhinvali on August 7, 2008, but stressed that this did not justify Russia's subsequent invasion of Georgia.

"No pretext or reason justifies Russia's invasion of Georgia. It had no right to invade under any circumstances," Mdinaradze said, adding that Russia launched a full-scale military operation on August 8.

Mdinaradze also criticised people who, he said, had not reacted with the same anger to the occupation of Georgia and the killing of Georgian citizens as they had to attacks or occupation in other countries.

He accused them of following political instructions and described their differing reactions as "part of an assignment".