"Greetings!

I would like to greet the Minister of Defense, the Chief of Joint Staff, Staff personnel, Archbishop Kalistrate, our great singer Paata Burchuladze and of course our new cadets!

After several years of rest we have restored our Cadets' Corps with totally new scale, quality, motivation and totally new people. About 6-7 people fought for one slot and 300 youngsters were enlisted in total. The competition at this school was higher than in many Universities in Georgia. It means that Georgian combat spirit is still alive and is getting stronger. It means that Georgia has not surrendered to its fortune, Georgia has the hope in its future and in victory.

This is one of the major State Institutions that was developed by us during the last several years with the joint national interest. We have developed this institution when it was someone attempted to destroy Georgia by regional fragmentation and internal disorders. All these came not from Georgian regions, but from Georgian political spectrum. We were able to develop several joint national institutions and first of all together with the Georgian Police it is Georgian Armed Forces.

This is our joint national institution because we are here despite our ethnicity, despite our rationality, despite our social origins, it doesn't meters here whether we are from the rich or from pore families, what languages we spoke in our childhood, what is our religion - all these are secondary issues today. All of us are united under our five-cross-flag and we are serving Georgia and its strengthening all together. This is a joint national institute and nothing else. Nothing at all - loyalty to your family, political party, region, city, district, ethnic group - stands higher than loyalty to our united and joint motherland, our Georgia, to our five-cross-flag and our Constitution. It is not accidental that this building stands besides newly constructing building of the Parliament of Georgia. Traditionally it was so, during the Communists' times. It was like this during last several years, Georgia became a big tadpole, everything was concentrated on one street in Tbilisi and everybody was nourishing with the information coming from that street. The rest of Georgia was ignored.

People were sorted out by their families, by their accent, by elite families. We have stopped all of these.

One street will never determine the fortune of our not very wide nation any more. I want everyone to understand that despite its size and its complicated geopolitical situation Georgia still remains as a very important State, because any countries look at us with eyes full of hope. This is an important country, because of the historical misfortune and some situation more Georgians live abroad than in Georgia. More Georgian people reside in Turkey than in Georgia. About one million Georgians live in Iran. I want to tell you that these Georgians are Muslims, but they are not less Georgians because of this. These people look at us with eyes full of hope and of course our sisters, mothers, brothers, grandfathers and grandmothers look at us with their eyes full of hope. Because we must take special care of everything we create. I visited the family of one citizen in Kutaisi. I sad a small "Khrushow" type apartment, a very small, tiny apartment where a genius - Tsotne Tabidze is growing. He is the representative of a regular Kutaisi family. He won Olympiad among several very important States in informatics. He obtained one of the first places last year in math. Such talented people grow here in this city. I want that Tsotne and children like Tsotne to have hope in future and that this future will be secured and defended. We aren't doing all of these for someone to come and explode everything like occupants exploded Bagrati Cathedral. We are building this city like Rome, Milan, Venice, Verona, Paris, and London. New Batumi, new Kutaisi, new Tbilisi will stand like the above-mentioned cities, but this is not new but created during millenniums.

What we are doing in Sghnagi, Mestia we will do in Sokhumi and in other occupied parts of Georgia. I want everyone to remember that I gave Presidential pledge here twice in front of Archbishop Kalistrate. This is the city of great King David the Builder. He left the testament for all Georgians not to build high sculptures and monuments after him, but to grave him in Georgian land in order to make Georgians to walk on his chest. 

This is the biggest esteem and greatness in the history of Georgia. All of us are David's grand children. We are also descendants of David from Bible, because the fight of David and Goliath is the fight that Georgia is carrying out today. The fight of St. George is the fight that Georgia is carrying out today. St. George was physically a weak man despite his icons that show him with a wide shoulders and riding a horse. He opposed a very strong and well-armed Emperor of Byzantium. He believed in his victory and was spiritually so strong that the great Emperor was not able to defeat him.

Georgia and its Armed forces are like St. George.

We had exceptional officers in Georgian history. Now people say why are we participating in Afghan Mission, several our warriors were wounded, unfortunately we have lost one officer. But I want to return to the history of Georgian officers.

I have visited Isfahan, in the former great capital of Iran, that was built not by French, Germans or Persians but by Alavedr Undiladze and his brother. Alaverd Undiladze was a very important Persian military leader, he brought several big victories to Sheikh Abbas. He brought him great historical fame for Iran and new territories; he was a great military commander. They were speaking Georgian at the residence of Sheikh, but there was one difference - Alaverd Undiladze served the occupant of Georgia and this is why he remained on the second role in the history of Iran. He wasn't able to fulfill his major dream to serve his motherland. The greatest General and later Marshal in the history of world Napoleon first goes to Egypt, where he defeats the army consisted of Georgian Mamluks and then goes to Russia and fights with noble Georgians. Neither the first were Egyptians nor the others were Russians. They were children of unfortunate Georgia. 

I have opened the monument of Georgian Officers in Warsaw several years ago with my friend Lekh Kachinsky. These are those Georgian officers that defeated Bolshevik's army in Warsaw.

Many Georgian officers were promoted for this reason.

General Sumbatashvli became the Chief of General Staff of Poland.

General Shalikashvili became the Chief of the General Staff of USA. General Franco gained he victory when Colonel Amilakhvari was the commander of his army. I am telling you all of these because it is obvious that we had great officers, we had something in our blood. We have unique chance to reside in Georgia, to fight for Georgia and gain victory for Georgia.

Of course someone may say: ‘we have so many problems, our territories are occupied and there is no time now for going somewhere else to fight'. But because of these very same problems that we have, we need a huge combat experience my friends and that's is unique combat and war school. Georgia is not in a situation of Norway, Denmark, or Australia. Take a look at our situation, our challenges and threats - can we say no to our armed forces and can we say no to a war school? This is an opportunity to become integrated to the world's best armies, to see the most advanced military equipment and achievements.

I know that no one is glad when Georgian soldiers die in Afghanistan. My heart dies first. I am grateful to our soldiers and their families, who have not complained even once, who participate in the Afghan operation with full awareness of their mission.

I want to tell you that Georgia is strong before its combat aspirations still exist. Georgia will be defeated when this soul will be killed in Georgia. This is why our fight continues and we will gain final victory", Mikheil Saakashvili stated.