President Saakashvili said that his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to Tskhinvali and his meeting with local secessionist leader Eduard Kokoity, whom Saakashvili described as “unwashed, murderer” and “corrupt criminal”, was “the most immoral and shameful precedent in centuries.” 

Below is the Georgian President’s televised statement, recorded in Ankara, where he participates in a summit on Nabucco gas pipeline project:

“I think, what happened today will enter the diplomatic history of Russia – which I have studied - as the most immoral and shameful precedent in centuries.

It is shameful because while the leader of small Georgia is out of the country and along with many other leaders of the world is resolving very important global issues, the president of such a big country – Russia, stole into one of the smallest regions of ours [South Ossetia] and visited, as if for negotiations, unwashed, murderer, corrupt criminal. To say the truth, I cannot remember, whether such things have previously occurred in the history of Russia.

It is also very immoral, because when the Russian President passed along the road – I do not know whether he was or not told about it - but he probably passed across deserted settlements of tens of thousands of ethnic Ossetians and ethnic Georgians, whose houses were bulldozed after Putin’s last year adventure. It will be an immoral and shameful spot for any Russian leader today and in future.
 
I do not know whether it was their [Russia’s] response to the Nabucco summit, which is considered by them as their great diplomatic failure, or it was a response to the fact that after Obama’s visit to Moscow, although in recent months Putin’s hands were itching to carry out new attack on Georgia to put an end to our statehood, he suddenly understood that he has neither resource and force for it, nor will anyone give him such an opportunity.        

In any case we are dealing with a very, very shameful act and I think, all those people, including in our country, who try to please these people or to dance on their tunes, should think about how shameful people they are associated with to the prejudice of our country’s interests. It is impossible for such politics to prevail. Georgia will certainly strengthen and will stand on its feet; it will be reunited and we will once and forever end this entire political circus and immoral and shameful actions in our small but very important country for the rest of the world.”