Saakashvili not to cooperate with investigation into August 2008 war

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said on Thursday that he was not going to cooperate with the investigation into the war of August 2008. During his working visit to Poland, the Georgian leader specified that he “will not cooperate with this investigation,” which according to him is aimed at “shaking the statehood of Georgia, aimed against the territorial integrity of the country” and plays into the hands of Georgia’s enemy. “It grieves me, as this matter does not concern me, but the future of Georgia. We must all protect that future,” the president said. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili said “I believe the actions by the then Georgian authorities led by the president were not quite adequate in that situation". “At that time, unidentified armed gangs were shooting in the conflict zone; in response, it would have been absolutely adequate on the part of the president and the then authorities to invite international observers, and the process might have ended at that level," he noted. On April 8, Justice Minister Teya Tsulukiani said “the General Prosecutor’s Office has all materials gathered by the former authorities of the country during the investigation of the 2008 events”.