Georgian PM ”confident” of peaceful restoration of territorial integrity on 16th anniversary of Russia’s invasion

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Thursday said he was confident the country’s territorial integrity would be restored with peaceful means, in comments on an anniversary of the 2008 Russia-Georgia war.

Kobakhidze was speaking at the Mukhatgverdi Cemetery, where servicemembers killed in the war are buried.

Today, we pay tribute to the heroes who died in the August war. We all remember the most tragic days, but these days also fill us with pride due to the great heroism shown by our military. Once again, we must honour them”, he said.

They had a dream, the territorial integrity of Georgia, and I am sure their heroism will not pass without a trace. The territory of Georgia will definitely be restored in a peaceful way, and the dream that our heroes had will come true”, the PM added.

In response to the opposition's stance on commemorating the start of the war on August 7, the Prime Minister stated these attempts were intended to “create division" among the public.

I do not believe these speculations about the date are serious. Our political opponents used to mark this date on August 8 for years, but several years later they changed it to August 7 as the start of the war. This speculation has no basis, and it only aims to divide our society”, Kobakhidze said.

Nothing should divide the Georgian society, including the date of the war's commencement. The radical opposition's approach of disputing even the date of the start of the war is unacceptable to us. August 8 has been and continues to be the date the war began”, he added.

The 2008 war saw 170 servicemembers and professionals of Georgia’s Ministry of Defence killed, along with 14 employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and 224 civilians.

Around 30,000 citizens of the country were forced to abandon their homes in the now-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region.

Foreign officials and embassies on Wednesday reaffirmed their “unwavering” support for Georgia’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity on the occasion of the anniversary.