Russia must withdraw troops from Abkhazia and South Ossetia after defeat in Ukraine, Georgia’s resident say

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said in an interview with Bloomberg that since "Russia has practically lost all the battles, if not the entire war," the future diplomatic settlement of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine should also include the issue of withdrawal of Russian troops from Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

According to her, the Georgian issue simply must be on the negotiating table, because "nobody should think that this war can be resolved without Russia retreating from all the occupied territories."

"Russia has to learn where its borders are," the Georgian leader said, referring not only to the Russian-Ukrainian but also to the Russian-Georgian border.

And if the West does not demand Russia's complete withdrawal of its occupation troops, it will "make another big mistake - as big as in 2008 and 2014," she added.

In August 2008, Russian troops entered Georgia, occupying one-fifth of Georgian territory, after which Russia recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states that were not recognized by the international community.

Then-President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev claimed that the Russian army was conducting an "operation to force peace."

President Zourabichvili has always been firmly opposed to the attempts of the government of Irakli Garibashvili to establish relations with Moscow without a prior agreement on the occupied Georgian territories.

• Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili recently opposed the resumption of direct flights between Tbilisi and Moscow, which the government wanted to launch.