The West used Georgia as a weapon against Russia, - said Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council and former President of Russia.

“Eighteen years have passed since the tragic events of August 2008. These events are yet another proof that defending one’s own citizens and national interests, regardless of the opinion of the so-called international community, is the right choice. The decision to defend Abkhazia and South Ossetia caused hysteria in the West. We were threatened with isolation and retaliation. Now we understand that this was the first test of Russia’s strength through a conflict with a neighboring state. We passed this test with honor, thus giving the peoples of Abkhazia and South Ossetia the opportunity to live successfully and develop. And those who criticized our country the loudest are now fighting unsuccessfully in Ukraine with someone else’s hands,” Medvedev said.

According to him, “the West was not at all interested in Georgia’s fate, despite promises of membership in NATO and the European Union.”

“The West used Georgia as a foolish weapon in its geopolitical struggle against us at a time when it was convenient for them. When our enemies realized that they could not achieve anything, they simply abandoned it,” Dmitry Medvedev noted.

Medvedev states that “today Tbilisi is pursuing a pragmatic policy.”

“I would not say that Georgia has fully recovered from the shock it experienced. The conclusions have certainly been drawn. Today Tbilisi is pursuing a pragmatic policy, but the damage caused by the actions of the criminal regime will be felt for a long time,” the former Russian president said.

Also, according to Medvedev, “Western policy is based on Russophobia and the desire to destroy Russia, for which they hire criminals.”

Medvedev spoke about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.

"It is not surprising that in such a struggle, the stakes are placed on the scoundrels. European hypocrites hire bandits, murderers and terrorists. These scoundrels are stupid and ambitious. They are easy to manage and then to get rid of. It is only necessary to block the financing channels and publicly step aside from them as soon as the situation reaches a dead end. Let us recall the fate of Saakashvili. Such disgraceful people as he and the Kyiv drug addict are expendable materials for the collective West. It is well known what the tie-chewing former Georgian “king” has become and how his masters treated him. Now he is extremely pitiful. The bloodthirsty Kyiv clown is no better and is actively moving towards the end of his unfortunate "career", - Medvedev noted.