Occupied territories of Georgia
In April 2013, Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said after meeting with his Georgian counterpart Maia Panjikidze that Russia respected only a state "that is larger" and therefore the Czech Republic could not mediate between Russia and Georgia. As for Georgia’s future with regard to the occupied territories, the Czech Foreign Minister said Georgia should maintain contacts with them. "It is difficult when your territories are occupied, but sometimes you have to wait for years, even decades before the window of possibilities will be opened for you. I do not know when that time will come, but it will necessarily come", he said.
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."