Saakashvili on Medvedev’s War ‘Acknowledgment’

President Saakashvili said on December 25, that his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev’s remarks were “acknowledgment” of the Russian aggression against Georgia.

Saakashvili was referring to Medvedev’s December 24 remarks when he said that Moscow was preparing for response measures, as Russia suspected that Georgia was getting ready for attacking South Ossetia. These remarks were described by senior Georgian officials as Russia’s “plea of guilty” on the war’s start.

“By these remarks of the Russian President – if somebody had any doubts in the world, in Russia or even in our country, if somebody had any questions about what has happened in August – this person [Medvedev] has given a clear-cut answer to it,” Saakashvili told journalists. “I was thinking much what the reason of this open acknowledgment of their aggression was after four months from the war. I think that – and it troubles me as it concerns us – there is a serious economic crisis in Russia, there are serious social protests, serious internal tension and political struggle – and this acknowledgement and also new aggressive threats serve to distract attention from all of these [problems].”

“What should we do in this situation?” he continued. “We are sure that the way towards our unification and peace passes through Georgia’s internal strengthening. It means that we should do our best – under conditions when the crisis is raging in Russia and in the rest of the world – to rescue and maintain Georgian economy, to preserve our economy, to maintain and develop Georgia’s stability and to become stronger and everything will be all right.”

Some opposition politicians have downplayed the Russian President’s remarks. Salome Zourabichvili, a former foreign minister and leader of Georgia’s Way party, said stirring hype about these remarks was just an attempt by the Georgian authorities to distract public attention from the pressing issues.

“He [Medvedev] simply said that he knew that Saakashvili was preparing for the war and he also was preparing for the war,” Davit Usupashvili, the leader of Republican Party, told Rustavi 2 TV. “I do not think there is something new in these remarks. We know that two authoritarian presidents were driving the two countries towards the military conflict.”

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