To His Excellency, Mr. Dmitry Medvedev, the President of the Russian Federation
Your Excellency Mr. President:
I appeal to you, the President and the Supreme Commander in Chief of Russia in these difficult days for Georgia and not only for Georgia.
It is a known fact that Russian aircraft are bombing Georgian villages and towns – Orthodox Christians are killing Orthodox Christians!
Among those who were killed or wounded there are children, women, the elderly and journalists … Recently the residence of Isaiah, the Mitropolitan of Nikozi and Tskhinvali, which is 50 meters away from the cathedral church, was bombed. The bishop himself and his novices miraculously survived. Residential and civilian buildings were bombed too…
Therefore, unlike what Russian journalists are saying, it is not only the Georgian military facilities that come under the attack of the Russian fighters.
Russian media are also saying that it is the Georgians who launched the occupation and carried out genocide, which – mildly put – is a lie.
We express our deep sorrow for thousands of people who were killed –Georgians, the Ossetians and Russians and are greatly concerned about the current situation.
The Orthodox Church of Georgia has always supported and still supports peaceful resolution of problems. We have stated this repeatedly in the past and would like to reiterate it now. However, it should also be noted that the Tskhinvali Region – South Ossetia is a historical Georgian land, where a large part of the Ossetians settled in the 17th century. The South Ossetian autonomy was created by communists in the 20s of the past century. Therefore, Georgia’s attempt to restore the integrity of its borders cannot be assessed as an attack or an ethnic conflict. This is the same as if Russia suddenly confronted problems in regard to Novgorod, Or Smolensk and it decided to defend its territory. Moreover, your country had a similar experience in Chechnya.
Mr. President, I do believe in your wisdom.
There can be no winners in this war.
There have been difficult periods in the Russian-Georgian relations in the past, yet the situation has never developed into open hostilities. Therefore, this is a truly hard time not only for Georgia or the Russian-Georgian relations, but for Russia too.
It is absolutely inadmissible to continue the current state of affairs. All of us should know that until Georgia’s territorial integrity is restored completely, there will always be tension and a threat of a conflict. The only solution is to immediately cease fire and start peace talks in order for justice to prevail. Where there is no justice, there can be no peace!
I believe through God’s help we shall be able to overcome the confrontation and brotherly relations will be resumed between us.
May God bless our nations in peace and grant them prosperity.
With deep respect,
Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II |
