“Three decades ago, on this day, Sokhumi fell, killing the hope of our generation that our newly established independent state would rapidly transform into a successful member of the European community,” Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili wrote on Facebook in connection with the day of fall of Sokhumi commemorated on September 27.

According to the Speaker, Russia’s imperial ambitions turned out to be stronger than the efforts of the international community to see a free Georgia.

The Speaker went on to say that time passed and Georgia made progress; the country restored order, carried out democratic reforms, fought against corruption, and is on its path to European integration.

“These achievements and progress give us hope that what happened on September 27, 1993, will remain the most painful event in the history of Georgia’s independence, and in the future, we will have more remarkable successes in achieving the national goals, such as strengthening the sovereignty of our homeland, restoring national unity and joining the European Union and full integration into NATO.

We must believe that this darkest hour of our recent history was the beginning of a better future that we Georgians dream of,” he said.

Today, Georgia commemorates the 30th anniversary of the fall of Sokhumi, occupied Abkhazia region.

The military confrontation in Abkhazia lasted 13 months and 13 days and ended on September 27, 1993, with the fall of Sokhumi and the defeat of the Georgian Armed Forces.

The war left over 10,000 Georgian soldiers and civilians killed and 300,000 people internally displaced.