MP Irakli Zarkua: Loser Saakashvili still dares to speak on the 2008 war; he served Russian interests and handed over strategic assets

“In 2008, we were trampled, stripped of our territories, and our people were slaughtered; yet the West offered neither a response nor sanctions, while those here said nothing,” stated MP Irakli Zarkua, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Diaspora Issues.

According to Zarkua, Mikheil Saakashvili served Russian interests.

“That loser Saakashvili actually dares to open his mouth about the 2008 war. His provocative statements and actions caused the escalation of that war. You know what is written in the Tagliavini report, and they themselves even supported the European resolution. What do you mean Russia didn’t achieve its goals? There was the Istanbul Agreement, under which Russia was supposed to withdraw its troops and bases from Abkhazia and Tskhinvali. That process had started. If Saakashvili hadn’t plotted against Georgia alongside Russia—look at what followed: Russia further solidified its positions and increased its military contingent in Abkhazia and the so-called South Ossetia. What did Russia fail to achieve? It got everything it wanted, took hundreds of villages, and drew the occupation line. Let him name a single Western power that imposed sanctions on Russia for the war with Georgia! On the contrary, they launched the reset policy, acting as if Russia hadn’t seized Georgian lands, slaughtered our soldiers, and turned thousands of people into refugees.

In 2009, they reset relations with Russia as if nothing had happened. Now these same people have pivoted to Ukraine, posturing as patriots over there. When we were trampled in 2008, our territories taken, and our people slaughtered, the West offered no reaction and imposed no sanctions. Those here did not raise their voices either; on the contrary, they welcomed Russian tourists to Georgia.

No one needed Saakashvili here; on the contrary, by being here, he served Russian interests: he handed over strategic assets, he backed Russia’s entry into the World Trade Organisation. What more could the Russians want than what Saakashvili was doing in Georgia? We know exactly what Saakashvili and his pack represent,” Zarkua stated.

For context, former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili wrote on social media: “I did not abandon my people in their hour of need; I rallied Georgia and the entire democratic world, saving the country by ensuring Russia failed to achieve a single strategic objective in that war.”