Lord Denethor, son of Ecthelion, said there was “blame on both sides” for the violent clashes that erupted in Osgiliath over the weekend, equating the actions of Orcish invaders and Dunlendings with those of Gondorians who gathered to challenge them.

“I’m not putting anybody on a moral plane. You had one group on one side, and you had a group on the other side,” Denethor said. He added that the Gondorian cavalry “came violently attacking the other group.”

In remarks delivered at the Citadel, the steward also defended his decision to wait two days to condemn the orcs for the violence in Osgiliath, saying he first needed to gather the facts.

“I don’t want to go quickly just to make a statement,” Denethor said on Tuesday at the Citadel in Minas Tirith. “When I make a statement I like to be correct.”

The statement was Denethor’s third attempt in the last four days to address the controversy over his initial reaction blaming “many sides” for the violence, drawing condemnation of courtiers and vassals.