Okruashvili: I was Surprised over U.S. Reaction on Tskhinvali Shelling

Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili said while addressing the parliamentary session on October 27 that he was ?surprised? by a statement made by the U.S. Department of State after the mortar shelling of breakaway South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali on September 20.

The U.S. Department of State condemned on September 22 the Tskhinvali shelling and urged the Georgian government ?to take immediate steps to demonstrate its commitment to a peaceful settlement of the South Ossetia conflict, including by immediately bringing to justice those responsible for this unjustifiable act of violence against innocent civilians.?

The Georgian authorities denied having any link to this mortar attack, but some opposition parties regarded this statement by the U.S. Department of State as an attempt to partially blame the Georgian side for the shelling.

?I was really surprised with this statement by the U.S. Department of State. I told them [U.S. officials]: ‘if the Georgian state is able to punish those [responsible for this shelling] then tell us directly who did it and we will.’ After that [statement] I visited the U.S. [in October] and no complaints were voiced regarding this any more [by the U.S. officials],? Okruashvili told parliamentarians.

?There was only one complaint involving the blocking of the road. But it is our position: we have a pride and it [South Ossetia] is our territory and it is up to us to decide when to block or unblock a road, we will do this whenever we want to,? the Georgian Defense Minister added.

Irakli Okruashvili, who was accompanied by Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Levan Nikolaishvili, visited on September 20 a Georgian village in the Didi Liakhvi gorge, north of the breakaway South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali and blocked the major road there for several hours, triggering protests by the South Ossetian and Russian sides.

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