TBILISI, September 17. /TASS/. The United National Movement party, which ruled in Georgia under former President Mikhail Saakashvili, started the war in South Ossetia in 2008 on order from abroad, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said.

His comments followed a statement by Bidzina Ivanishvili, founder of the ruling Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia party, who said in a speech in the town of Gori on September 14 that Georgia will find the strength to apologize for the "flames of fire, in which our Ossetian brothers and sisters were enveloped" in 2008 by the United National Movement, which was founded by Saakashvili. Ivanishvili also accused Saakashvili or starting the war on orders from abroad. His remarks sparked outrage among the opposition and some other people.

"It is not the issue of starting a war that has enraged the radical opposition, but the topic of mutual forgiveness and reconciliation (with Ossetians - TASS). This has a very simple explanation. Mutual forgiveness and reconciliation run counter to the purpose for which the regime of the National Movement executed orders from abroad by starting the war in 2008. It is the subject of reconciliation, rather than the start of the war, that is tragic for the radical opposition," Kobakhidze said at a news conference.

In August 2008, an armed conflict between Georgia and South Ossetia broke out after Georgian forces attempted to take control of the Ossetian city of Tskhinvali. On August 8, Russia deployed troops to protect Russian citizens and its peacekeepers stationed in the region. As a result, Georgian forces retreated. On August 26, 2008, Russia recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.