Friday, August 07, 2009

Georgian government report on August war

The Georgian government has released an official report (pdf) on the events that led up to the Russian invasion of Georgia last year.

Among other things, the report states that

In 2008, the Russian Federation launched a full-scale assault against a sovereign state—its immediate neighbor, Georgia. This incursion, systematically preceded by political and other provocations, was the violent climax of policies pursued by Russia against Georgia over many years. Rather than work to peacefully resolve the conflicts in Georgia, Russia systematically stoked them. Moscow interfered in Georgian politics, supplied separatist militias with arms, ignored its peacekeeping responsibilities, failed to prevent widespread ethnic cleansing of Georgians and, ultimately, sought to annex Georgian territories by means of military force. Russia’s main goals have been to annex Georgian territories, overthrow Georgia’s legitimate government, subvert Georgia’s independence, curtail Georgia’s sovereignty, and send a message to its neighbors and to the West that it is in control of what it calls its “sphere of privileged interest”.

The report also contains a summary (pdf) of Russia's actions in the context of international law, which says that Russia's use of force “constituted an egregious breach of Georgia’s political sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Via civil.ge

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