Tbilisi [Georgia],August 9:Georgian Prime Minister IrakliGaribashvili commemorated on Tuesday the victims of a brief war with Russia 15 years ago and lamented the loss of the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
"This was a terrible tragedy," Garibashvili said on the anniversary of the start of the South Caucasus war, which lasted from August 8 to 12, 2008.
He said 400 Georgians were killed and more than 2,000 injured. To this day, Moscow supports the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and has stationed Russian troops in the region.
Garibashvili said that the Black Sea republic was still suffering the consequences of losing 20 percent of its territory.
"This war has brought us an illegal occupation," he said, referring to Russia's troops there. "We have said time and again that this war could have been prevented."
Moscow invaded the Georgian regions in 2008 when the Russian president was Dmitry Medvedev, who is now deputy head of the Russian Security Council. Medvedev drew comparisons on Telegram on Tuesday to the current situation in Ukraine. (DPA)
Source: Qatar Tribune