President Saakashvili said that “firmly established” terms “occupied” and “ethnic cleansing” in respect of Georgia’s breakaway regions, represents “the biggest headache” for Moscow, which has “no resources to maintain occupied territories.”

“It is very important that the terms occupation and ethnic cleansing have been firmly established in the European terminology, because the term ethnic cleansing means that no one will ever be able to legitimize [ownership] on our seized houses, yards, villages and the property of people who have been expelled, that means that this property will be returned and the term occupation means that occupation always ends with de-occupation,” Saakashvili said.

He made the televised remarks after addressing a congress of the European People’s Party Marseille, France on December 7.

“Today’s Russia has no resources to maintain occupied territories; these days we are all watching in what a condition Russia is; it is actually very shaken,” he said.

In separate remarks, during his address to the EPP congress in Marseille, Saakashvili said that recent events in Tskhinvali, where post-election crisis continues after a Kremlin-backed candidate lost the race, as well as events in Moscow, involving post-election protests, “have shown to us that the methods and the language of the past simply do not work anymore.”

“I travel a lot to Post-Soviet countries and I can tell you: there is no way they will accept the new Soviet Union in any form, under any name or any pretext,” Saakashvili said.