PM highlights “peaceful, prudent” policy to restore territorial integrity on Russian invasion anniversary

The Georgian Government has chosen a “peaceful, prudent” policy as the way to restore territorial integrity and unify the country and believes it will definitely achieve the goal, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Monday in connection with the 14th anniversary of the Russian invasion that sparked the five-day war between the two states in 2008 and the ongoing Russian occupation of two Georgian regions.

Fourteen years have passed since the beginning of the August 2008 war, which claimed the lives of many of our fellow citizens. For 14 years, the heart of our country - Samachablo, Tskhinvali region [South Ossetia] and Abkhazia - have been occupied by Russia”, Garibashvili said.

In his remarks over the matter the head of the Government said he “bowed before the memory of our heroic soldiers and civilians” who died in the conflict that claimed the lives of 169 Georgian servicemembers and 11 Interior Ministry professionals, as well as 224 civilians.

We have chosen a peaceful, prudent policy as the way to restore territorial integrity and unify the country, and we believe that we will definitely achieve our goal - Georgia will be united!”, the PM concluded in his statement on the date.