The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia questioned Davit Sujashvili, the former Head of Georgia’s Intelligence Service, over the building of a checkpoint in Chorchana village.

Speaking to the media, Sujashvili stated that he had no prior knowledge about the opening of the checkpoint and that then-Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia did not consult the National Security Council.

“There were previously two councils – the Security Council under the President, and the State Security and Crisis Management Council. After both were dissolved, reforms led to the creation of the National Security Council. Its first meeting was mostly technical and organizational. The head of the Intelligence Service is a permanent member of this new council, and issues like the opening of checkpoints should be reviewed by it,” Sujashvili explained.

He went on to say that “Gakharia never brought this matter to the Council.”

“I had no information regarding the checkpoint in Chorchana. The Intelligence Service, like other specialized agencies, operates within its framework and is not actively involved in non-recognition policy issues. I don’t see an issue with not having had this information. I only learned about the checkpoint through open sources and the media. It would have been better to know earlier.

According to the information I do have, local residents are now in an extremely difficult situation. Following the opening of Georgia’s checkpoint, the Russian Federation opened additional outposts in the area which I consider to be a very serious problem,” Sujashvili concluded.