In fact, the question is not about when or who started the war, but the main question is why the war started - the answer to this question was given in 2022, when the war did not start! In 2022, a war could have started in Georgia in one day! If in 2008, Georgia had not been ruled by the puppet regime of the National Movement, but by a patriotic government like the Georgian Dream, there would have been no war! - Shalva Papuashvili, the Chairman of the Parliament, told journalists.

Arriving at the Mukhatgverdi Brothers Cemetery, Shalva Papuashvili explained in the same context that in 2022, they wanted to “use Georgia as a pawn on the chessboard of a great geopolitical confrontation”.

He called former President Mikheil Saakashvili a “traitor”.

“We remember our soldiers and the people who died 17 years ago in August. More than 400 citizens were killed, more than 1,700 people were injured. The central government of Georgia lost control over 125 villages.

This day makes us think about many things - first of all, it makes us think about the heroism of our soldiers, it makes us think about our population, which was forced to leave the war zone. It makes us think about how fragile peace is. Peace is still fragile today and the situation can change in an instant if our society does not act wisely.

Therefore, this day is, on the one hand, a day to remember our heroes and, on the other hand, a day to think about our future.

In 2008, we had a puppet regime in the form of the National Movement and Mikheil Saakashvili. The puppet regime acted entirely to serve the interests of others, not the interests of Georgia. The result of this is the August war, the result of this is the following decisions, when on the one hand, they talked about occupation and on the other hand, they supported the accession of the Russian Federation to the World Trade Organization. Whatever order they received, whatever interest they had to serve, they acted in this way. This is the difference between puppet and patriotic governments.

When there is a threat of war at any moment, the government should act in national interests, and not in serving the interests of other countries.

How can a traitor and puppet ruler have any connection with Georgian heroes? Saakashvili has no connection with these heroes, nor with our country, nor with the past, nor with the future. He was a traitor and will remain a traitor in our history,” said Shalva Papuashvili