Putin: Saakashvili Promised Not to Use Force in South Ossetia and Abkhazia

Putin held an interview with the TASS newsgroup in the framework of the project “20 questions with Vladimir Putin”, where he spoke about causes and the consequences of the Russo-Georgian War of 2008.

“We spoke to him [Saakashvili] on this issue several times, back when he was still president,” affirmed Putin and stressed that he urged Saakashvili “not to use force against South Ossetia and Abkhazia,” Saakashvili on the other hand, ensued and “promised not to use force.”

“He said he would never use force in these regions, although he still went his way, and he got it!” said Putin to the interviewer. 

Putin also commented about the diplomatic relations between Georgia and Russia. The Georgian government “stepped aside” from Moscow, Putin asserted, “we have nothing to do in this matter, they can thank Saakashvili for this”.

By B.Alexishvili