President Saakashvili said on July 17 that Russia’s calls for the signing of a treaty on the non-use of force were “an artificially created issue.”

Speaking with journalists before meeting with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Batumi, Saakashvili said that the issue was not at all serious and added that it was an attempt “to make a mountain out of a molehill.”

“Georgia signed everything and things went wrong in the past,” Saakashvili said, referring to several ceasefire agreements signed during the armed conflict in the early 90s in Abkhazia

“Georgia supports peaceful resolution but this is a totally artificial issue [referring to a treaty on the non-use of force],” Saakashvili continued. “The agreement on ceasefire [signed in 1994 in Moscow] is already in force.”

“The fact that we should not use force against our citizens – we have never used and are not going to use force - is not at all the major problem today. The major problem is that a very fast process of Georgia’s annexation is underway, a very rough process of infringement of international law is underway and everybody understands it today. Serious concerns are expressed and serious discussions are underway in European capitals and generally in world capitals over this matter,” he added.