Mikhail Saakashvili: “There are no ethnic conflicts in Georgia”

Read it in Russian

“There are no ethnic conflicts in Georgia – they are political conflicts, imposed on us, which are connected with attempts of post-Soviet forces, remains of the old Soviet imperial mentality to appropriate at least any part of neighboring territory (Georgia was for them the most attractive tidbit), and to cause trouble at least for Georgia,” Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili stated later on July 16 at a special briefing, timed to the St. Petersburg G8 summit.

The Georgian leader is quoted by a REGNUM correspondent as stressing that “Georgia is a new country now; it has a new government; it has been heading for peaceful solution of these conflicts, once and for all.” At that Mr. Saakashvili emphasized, the Georgian side would not reconcile itself to the status quo and to delaying of Abkhazian and South Ossetian conflicts any more.

“We will not reconcile ourselves to any attempt to impose confrontation on Georgia, because we wish peaceful development; we wish to have modern economy, investments, which have already got; we should not allow anybody to break the process,” the Georgian president stressed. “However, we will never reconcile ourselves to the hint that these territories will be annexed from Georgia anywhere, using international mechanisms of any kind. We are supported by all Georgia’s important partners here; I am sure, sooner or later, any statements or steps will cease to be made in such direction in Russia.”