Georgia seeks truth in The Hague

The Hague court will investigate the Russian-Georgian war of 2008. The Ministry of Justice of Georgia says all related material has already been sent to The Netherlands.

According to the Minister, Thea Tsulukiani, the court will check on the admissibility of the case.

"The Hague prosecutors will determine whether the steps and investigative actions carried out by Georgia were sufficient and make a decision on whether it is necessary for the case to be investigated by The Hague Court. We are awaiting their decision,” Stulukiani stated.

The Minister of Defence, Tina Khidasheli, is sure Georgia will have access to a fair and impartial hearing at the Hague court and the Russian powers will not be able to hinder the process.

“The size of countries involved should not determine whose responsibility will be raised in The Hague…I was given full information about the case before becoming Minister due to being personally involved in the process since 2009. I sent a lot of materials to the International Criminal Court. Among them was evidence of ethnic cleansing. Now I no longer have the right or opportunity to be engaged in the process,” Khidasheli said. She hopes that the court will not need much time to start proceedings.

While Georgia tries to get international institutions involved in its relations with Russia and put the occupation of its land to an end, the country also tries to keep its place in the Russian market. However, Parliament Speaker Davit Usupashvili says it can be dangerous if Georgia becomes too much dependent on the Russian market and stops looking for other export destinations.

"I would like to assure our people that the government is overly aware that if we find ourselves too dependent on the Russian market, it would be another trap for us, since it may damage the Georgian economy,” Usupashvili said. According to the Parliament speaker, Georgia is not trying to be constructive in relations with Russia; it simply tries not to worsen it.

“This is very important, because of dialogue on certain issues that was achieved under the new government enables us to prevent further complications but we do not expect to get anything great or even tangible from this process,” Usupashvili stated.