Tbilisi. Georgian President, Mikheil Saakashvili, played 'a
Russian game' and turned out to be 'a puppet' in Russia's hands - State
Minister for Reintegration, Paata Zakareishvili, stated when commenting on the
August war 2008.
"Saakashvili's statements that the
Russian side was interested in Georgia, rather than in Tskhinvali, is a
fairytale. They got what they wanted:Certain steps were maid, which allowed
Russia easily resolve those issues. In my opinion, Saakashvili was playing a
Russian game, while publicly he was playing a pro-American one:Sorry to say so,
but Russia simply kept Saakashvili on a string and he trusted it. When Russia
plaid fast and loose with him, it turned out that he was just a good, free
puppet in its hands," Zakareishvili stated at the meeting with
representatives of the local Mass Media.
At the same time, he said he agreed with
the President's opinion about the need for conducting political, rather than
criminal, investigation into the August war 2008.
"Saakashvili said, a political
investigation should be conducted and he is right, I agree with him:Conduct of
war, in itself, is not a crime. In other words, the question on whether to
launch the war or not, is a prerogative of a state:I wonder what happened
before the war, how did we come to it," Zakareishvili stressed.
In his words, the most terrible
consequence of the August war 2008 is the recognition of the independence of
Georgia's regions - Abkhazia and South Ossetia, because the occupation issue
'can be settled somehow or another'."