It was a military intervention carried out by Russia”, – said Georgian Foreign Minister Davit Zalkaliani made this statement in connection with August 2008 Russia-Georgia War.

According to him, the occupation did not begin in 2008, it began much earlier, and our assessments should have been stricter with regard to Russia at that time.

“I would like to state very clearly, and this is recorded in our internal statement that this was a military intervention carried out by Russia. The occupation did not begin in 2008, it began much earlier, and it was then when we should have been tough in evaluating the Russian Federation”, – the Minister of Foreign Affairs said.

As Zalkaliani noted, occupation had started in the early 1990s and finalized after the 2008 intervention.

“This is a very sensitive issue. It is unacceptable to use this issue for political advantage, political insinuations and manipulations since we must firmly uphold our positions with international law. We, as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which represents the country beyond its borders, really need unity and consolidation over this issue and the support we have indicates on it”, – said Davit Zalkaliani.