Saakashvili Denies Having Plans to Use Force in South Ossetia

President Saakashvili stated on August 7 that the Georgian side has no plans to use force in resolving the South Ossetian conflict and called on the South Ossetian to return to the negotiating table.

“I want to respond to the accusations which have been circulating for the last week that Georgia plans use of force in South Ossetia. We have more than enough force to respond to provocations, but we have no plans to forcefully solve this conflict,” Mikheil Saakashvili said at a news briefing.

Saakashvili made these comments after meeting with Giorgi Javrishvili, the director of the Tbilisi-based private eye clinic, who offered to provide free-of-charge consultation and eye surgery for partially-sighted or blind patients in the South Ossetian conflict zone. Saakashvili said that the authorities will support this initiative.

The Georgian President also called on the South Ossetian side “to return to the negotiating table.”

“No previous Georgian government could dare to offer the peace proposals [to South Ossetia] that we have. Now it’s the South Ossetian side’s turn. We are waiting. But we will not tolerate the status quo. The conflict must be solved and we are ready to solve it peacefully,” Saakashvili added.