The Daily Beat: 8 August
On August 8, Government officials, representatives of executive and legislative bodies, and representatives of the diplomatic corps gathered at the Mukhatgverdi Cemetery of the Brothers in Arms to commemorate the 16th anniversary of the August 2008 war. Speaking to the media, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze accused the UNM of “changing its mind” about the start date of the war and reiterated the GD Political Council’s promise to investigate the then ruling UNM party’s role in the war after the upcoming elections. Other GD representatives echoed the Prime Minister’s accusations.
On August 8, the Georgian Foreign Ministry issued a statement commemorating the 16th anniversary of the Russia-Georgia war in 2008. This marks a departure from the practice of issuing a statement on August 7, which the MFA did in previous years. The MFA called on the Kremlin “to respect Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, fulfill its obligations under the EU-mediated 12 August 2008 Ceasefire Agreement, withdraw its forces from the territory of Georgia, cease grave human rights violations in the occupied regions, and to facilitate the return of internally displaced persons and refugees to their homes.”
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili visited the museum dedicated to the August 2008 war in Ergneti, a village near the occupation line of the Tskhinvali region. Talking to the journalist in front of the museum, she stressed the importance of never forgetting and never getting used to what happened in 2008, of doing more to reconcile society and protect Georgian churches and language, of the role of European integration in the context of reconciliation, and of being grateful to “foreign agents” for restoring the village of Ergneti.
On August 8, Russian Foreign Ministry published its spokeswoman Maria Zakharova’s comment on the 16th anniversary of the Russia-Georgia 2008 war using this opportunity to reiterate propagandistic accusations against Tbilisi and accusing the then-Georgian UNM government and then-President Mikheil Saakashvili of starting the war. According to her, “on the night of August 8, 2008, Mikhail Saakashvili’s regime breached all international agreements on peaceful settlement of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict and began a full-scale military operation against South Ossetia.”
In his first interview with the Russian state-owned media outlet Ria Novosti after his appointment as the de-facto top diplomat of occupied Abkhazia, Sergei Shamba spoke about relations with Russia and Tbilisi, and discussed the Geneva International Discussions (GID). Among other things, he also commented on the Ochamchire port, saying that “when it comes to the port of Ochamchire, there is no talk of opening a naval base there.”
