Azernews.Az

By Nazrin Gadimova

Over 8,000 people in Georgia have signed up under the online petition "Protest over the Sochi Olympics", which calls on the Georgian authorities to boycott the 2014 Winter Olympics.

The petition, which is addressed to Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, President of the Georgian National Olympic Committee (NOC) Leri Khabelov, Georgia's Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Levan Kipiani, appeared on the Internet on October 9.

Earlier, President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili urged the Georgian NOC to review and "make the right decision" in connection with the participation of Georgian athletes at the Sochi Olympics. Saakashvili made ​​the statement due to the involvement of Ivan Nechayev, a pilot who took part in the fighting during the 2008 war, in the Olympic torch relay.

However, Special representative of the Georgian prime minister for relations with Russia Zurab Abashidze said that Georgia will take part in the Sochi Olympic Games.

Earlier, Georgia protested over Russia's National Olympic Committee's (NOC) decision on including the Georgian rebel regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in its database as separate entities.

Russia recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in late August of 2008. In response, Tbilisi broke diplomatic relations with Moscow and has called the two unrecognized republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia occupied territories.