"The ICC group will arrive in Georgia on February 27 and, of course, our Ministry of Justice will actively cooperate with them and provide all the necessary information," Kvirikashvili said after talks with ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda at the Munich Security Conference.
In 2008, Georgia launched a military offensive against the breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which escalated into a five-day war with Russia. Both regions declared independence from Georgia in the early 1990s. Their statehood was recognized by Russia following the 2008 conflict.
The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I authorized Bensouda’s investigation late January for alleged crimes committed in and around South Ossetia between July 1 and October 10, 2008. Its website listed the ICC Chamber receiving 6,335 claims from alleged victims or their representatives on December 4, 2015.
Bensouda classified her meeting with Georgian officials "timely" and claimed to receive full support from Tbilisi in the investigation.
Russia has criticized the ICC for ignoring mass murders of the Ossetian people by the Georgian regime, suggesting that Moscow may reconsider its relations with the Hague-based tribunal.
