Statements that the Georgian army is capable of capturing South Ossetia and hoisting the Georgian flag over the Russian military base are populist, ex-commander of the 58th combined-arms army of the North Caucasus Military District, General Anatoly Khrulev, who in 2008 had liberated Tskhinval from the Georgian military.
On Thursday, the leader of the Georgian Labor Party, Shalva Natelashvili, in a speech on a section of the central Georgian highway a few hundred meters from the border with South Ossetia, promised to return the Republic to Georgia. He has also stated that the Georgian flag will soon be raised at the Russian military base.
"These are nothing more than populist statements. Neither in 2008, nor even more so now, the Georgian army has no military potential to resist the Russian military in South Ossetia. These are nothing more than populist statements with which the politician is trying to attract voters," Khrulev said.
According to him, such statements "should not be paid attention at all".
