Kobakhidze Rejects Statements From Tskhinvali And Abkhazia
By Messenger Staff
Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said Tuesday that he was "not at all interested" in statements by representatives of the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region and Abkhazia, after the de facto authorities in Tskhinvali cited his remarks about former President Mikheil Saakashvili as evidence that Saakashvili was a "war criminal" and that Georgia should be held accountable for the 2008 war.
Kobakhidze made the remarks during a visit to Shindisi to mark the 18th anniversary of the August war and the Battle of Shindisi.
"First of all, there is no 'Republic of South Ossetia,' there is no 'Republic of Abkhazia,'" he told journalists.
"There are no such entities, and therefore, we are not at all interested in what statements are made by representatives of these de facto formations, the occupied territories," Kobakhidze said. "Unlike you, we are not at all interested in their statements."
Kobakhidze also repeated his criticism of the United National Movement, saying: "I reiterated what your party wrote in the Council of Europe resolution. It was clearly stated there that the conflict escalated into a large-scale military operation after your party's unprovoked bombing of Tskhinvali."
His comments followed a statement issued by the de facto South Ossetian Foreign Ministry on Aug. 9.
The statement said that one day before the Georgian Foreign Ministry's August 8 statement, Kobakhidze had "officially recognized former Georgian President [Mikheil] Saakashvili as guilty of military aggression."
"It is quite clear that Saakashvili is not the only one guilty," the statement said. It argued that, as head of state, Saakashvili had the mandate to speak on behalf of Georgia, issue what it called criminal orders, and pursue "anti-Ossetian and anti-Abkhazian policies."
"Therefore, responsibility for the August 2008 war should be placed on the country as the implementer of this policy, including the figures of the Saakashvili regime as the objects of his policy," the de facto Foreign Ministry said.
