Georgian President on Russian Occupation

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Let me just start asking you about what you think — I guess what you thought, given the fact that your country had been through something very similar more than a month ago, when the tanks and the soldiers invaded this country for a second time?

SALOME ZOURABICHVILI, PRESIDENT OF GEORGIA: Well, what I thought at that time is that Russia doesn’t seem to be changing. We are now in the 21st century. Things should be different. We have global challenges that we should be looking at all together to overcome. And, at that time, the old Russian imperialist aims and objectives are still there, which we and the Ukrainians know all the same, because we have been going through that for the last two centuries. And, unfortunately, it’s repeating itself. But I think, this time, things are a bit different, because Russian objectives have not been met. Russian aims have not been fulfilled. And the play is a bit different.

AMANPOUR: Madam President, can I ask you about the state in your country right now? I remember, when the Russians came in, there were a lot of promises that they were going to enhance the livelihood, the standard of life of the places that they occupied. Did that actually happen? Did the people end up better off under Russian occupation?

ZOURABICHVILI: Well, those two occupied territories, Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region, both are basically used by Russia as military bases. They have not delivered on any of the promises, including, for instance, the cultural independence. I am today, I must say, the only one defender of Abkhazian language. By constitution I’m supposed to defend because it’s one of the languages, and the state language for this Abkhazian region. And not only — not cultural independence has been defended and protected, but there has not been any economic independence and any development of those regions. And their only perspective, I’m sure, is the same as our perspective. It’s Europe.