On November 23rd, in an address to the European Parliament, Mr Saakashvili said that the Georgian government unilaterally declared that Georgia will never use force to roll back the Russian occupation and to restore its control over the occupied areas. He stressed that even if Russia failed to withdraw its forces from Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Georgia would only retain the right to self-defence in the case of new attacks on other parts of Georgian territory. Mr Saakashvili's declaration was immediately welcomed by the EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Catherine Ashton, who described the decision as a "constructive step and positive contribution to ongoing efforts towards a peaceful and lasting solution to the conflict".

The de facto leaders of the breakaway entities of Abkhazia and South Ossetia-Sergei Bagapsh and Eduard Kokoity, respectively-made similar pledges on the non-use of force in response to Mr Saakashvili's declaration. The Russian foreign ministry was initially cautious about the Georgian move, stating that the declaration would only be taken seriously when it is put on paper and becomes legally binding, but went on to say that the parallel pledges by Mr Saakashvili, Mr Bagapsh and Mr Kokoity created a new situation in the region. Russia has long been pushing for non-use-of-force treaties between Georgia and the de facto authorities of its breakaway enclaves. Until now, however, Georgia had insisted that Russia must also be a signatory to any such pledge-a demand that Russia has so far refused.