Prepared by Messenger Staff
Saakashvili Says Lazika Project Was Key To Georgia's Development
Third President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili has renewed his support for the Lazika project, saying the planned Black Sea city and deep-water port could have transformed Georgia's economy.
Lazika was proposed under Saakashvili as a new city around Anaklia and Kulevi, linked to a major port and intended to become a center for trade, logistics, tourism and technology. Saakashvili said he expected its population to eventually reach 500,000.
Writing on social media, he said he had pushed to build the port quickly because U.S. military cargo leaving Afghanistan was expected to pass through the region in 2014-15. He claimed the project would have generated major revenue for Georgia but was halted by Bidzina Ivanishvili, after which the cargo was transported through Russia.
Saakashvili also argued that Lazika could have strengthened Georgia's economic and cultural ties with Russian-occupied Abkhazia and the Laz population in Turkey.
He said the project remains important to Georgia's development and should ultimately be completed, despite the political and economic changes since it was first proposed.
Georgian Citizen Released From Detention In Tskhinvali Region
A Georgian citizen detained in the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region has been released and transferred to territory controlled by Tbilisi, Georgia's State Security Service (SSSG) said on August 14.
The SSSG did not identify the individual in its official release announcement, but the Tskhinvali-based Res news agency confirmed that the detainee was 46-year-old Giorgi Kharaishvili. Kharaishvili had been held since December 5, 2025, on charges of "illegally crossing the state border of the Republic of South Ossetia," and Res reported that he was released after serving his sentence.
The SSSG said Georgian authorities had repeatedly raised the case through the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism and the Geneva International Discussions. The government also used its hotline and other available channels, with international partners involved in the negotiations.
"The hotline mechanism and all other relevant instruments available to the Georgian side were used intensively," the SSSG said.
The agency said efforts would continue to secure the release of other Georgian citizens detained in the occupied territories.
