President Saakashvili said on April 6, that the previous U.S. administration “has never made even one half of those statements,” which were made by the present one to describe the Russia’s moves against Georgia in August, 2008.

“There have been speculations that Georgia was sold or traded off. The previous U.S. administration has never made even one half of those statements, which were made this time by President Obama. The previous [U.S.] administration was speaking about excessive use of force [apparently referring to the term “disproportionate use of force”]; while this man [President Obama] said: invasion, aggression, occupation. He gave correct names to everything,” Saakashvili said.

President Obama said on April 3: “I was a critic of the Russian invasion of Georgia.”

He then added. “I continue to believe that despite extraordinary efforts of President Sarkozy to broker ceasefire, we have not seen a stabilization of that situation.”

President Saakashvili, who was speaking in Kutaisi in a live televised meeting with workers from local machinery factory, also said that NATO’s recent statements were also expression of support towards Georgia.  

“Of course, Georgia has many challenges ahead. Of course, 20% of our territory is occupied and this is the greatest tragedy for me. But you have seen the recent NATO summit,” Saakashvili said. “It is the support when the NATO Secretary General said Georgia would enter NATO with South Ossetia – said he used the term ‘the so called South Ossetia’, even we do not say it for a long time already - and Abkhazia. It is a result of hard work.”

“If we manage to maintain and save our economy, if these 12 plants are built here [as part of the planned free industrial zone in Kutaisi] and they will manage to build those skyscrapers about which I am dreaming in Kutaisi, Poti, Batumi, Tbilisi, Zugdidi, Telavi, if we manage to build this high-speed railway here… how can they occupy our territories? After seeing all these, the world will support us. When the country is successful, everybody wants to make friends with you and to support you,” Saakashvili said.