Former Deputy Foreign Minister of Georgia during the presidency of Mikhail Saakashvili Sergi Kapanadze, now one of the opposition leaders, admitted on Tuesday that the Georgian military during the 2008 war bombed Tskhinval using cluster bombs
At the same time, according to him, "this was not the beginning of the war," and Georgia was bombing "military points, not civilians." First, he raised this topic in an interview with PosTV, and then began posting on social networks to smooth out the negative reaction to his own words.
“Cluster bombs, in particular, M-85, were used against military targets (in South Ossetia),” he said.
According to the former official, Georgia at that time did not join the convention signed in Oslo, which prohibits the use of such bombs. Kapanadze calls the representatives of the authorities who accuse him of such statements, "morons".
Deputy Minister of Justice of Georgia Beka Dzamashvili said that Kapanadze "continues the Russian narrative of accusations against Georgia." According to the Deputy Minister of Justice, "earlier in the Strasbourg court, Georgia provided evidence that it did not bomb Tskhinval with cluster bombs, and that all war crimes were on Russia's conscience." He called Sergi Kapanadze's statement "directed against the state interests of Georgia."
In January, the Strasbourg court considered Georgia's claim against Russia in the 2008 war and partially satisfied it. Also, now the lawsuit of Georgia against Russia is considered by the ICC in The Hague. Georgian experts and officials do not exclude that Kapanadze's statement will negatively affect Tbilisi's arguments against Moscow in The Hague - in the International Criminal Court.
Earlier, Georgia denied the use of cluster bombs.
