Ruling party Sec Gen says “terrible” consequences of 2008 war remain “open wound” for country

Kakha Kaladze, the Mayor of Tbilisi and the Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday said the “terrible” consequences of the 2008 war with Russia remained an “open wound” for the country, in comments on an anniversary of the conflict.

In a social media message, Kaladze noted the Russian-occupied territories were the “main challenge” for the sovereignty of Georgia and its further development into a “peaceful, developed, economically strong” state.

Our belief is unshakable that only with peace, only with development, only with progress will we achieve the reunification of Georgia together with our Abkhazian and Ossetian brothers and sisters. Let there be eternal memory and glory of the heroes who died in the August war, who sacrificed their lives for the motherland”, he said.

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.