According to Irakli Kobakhidze, the only state and party that carried out the occupation of Georgian territories is the Russian Federation.
He stated that the Russian Federation occupied 20% of Georgia's territory, which was a crime against the Georgian state.
"The only state and the only party that carried out the occupation of Georgian territories is, naturally, the Russian Federation—this is a very simple fact. As for the occupation, everything is absolutely clear. Countless statements are made about this, and it requires no further questioning. Of course, the Russian Federation carried out the occupation of 20% of Georgia's territories, which was a crime against the Georgian state, against our people. This is a crystal-clear crime committed against the Georgian state and the Georgian people. It was an occupation, followed by the so-called recognition," Irakli Kobakhidze stated.
Speaking with journalists, the Prime Minister also addressed the prospects of restoring diplomatic relations with Russia and ways to resolve the conflict. As he noted, Georgia has no diplomatic relations with Russia for obvious reasons.
"As long as the so-called recognition remains an established fact on the part of the Russian Federation, diplomatic relations, of course, cannot be restored. Our goal regarding the Russian Federation is the peaceful resolution of the conflict. This is our political stance, and we hope that following political shifts, all of this will become possible. The peaceful resolution of the conflict is, naturally, one of our foreign policy priorities," Irakli Kobakhidze noted.
On August 8, Irakli Kobakhidze stated that on August 7, the Saakashvili regime bombarded Tskhinvali, after which the conflict escalated into a full-scale war, and on August 8, Russian troops entered Georgia. The puppet regime of occupied Tskhinvali also responded to Kobakhidze's statement, remarking that responsibility for the war should fall not only on the "Saakashvili regime" but on Georgia as a whole.
