Occupied territories of Georgia
On 3 March 2009, Latvian President Valdis Zatlers met Giorgi Baramidze, the Vice-Prime Minister and Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Georgia. The president expressed his support for Georgia's domestic reforms and foreign policy. He also asked Baramidze what Russia was doing in those parts of Georgia that it had occupied.
Timeline of the Russo-Georgian War
"The Guardian" described the Russian invasion as "punitive campaign" aiming to impose "humiliating truce terms" on Georgia. Local journalist from Gori had reported that "Russian troops had occupied the main road on the edge of the city, but had not moved towards the centre". Georgian president stated that Russians had split Georgia into two by occupying an important crossroad near Gori. Georgian president told CNN, "The bombs that are falling on us, they have an inscription on them: This is for NATO. This is for the U.S." Georgia had retracted initial reports of Russian takeover of Gori. Georgian president accused Russia of ethnic cleansing of Georgians. BBC reported on 12 August that "Russia's control over many key bridges and roads across Georgia has left Tbilisi isolated from much of the country, causing visible panic."