Georgian ex-PM: Putin wasn’t held responsible for invading Georgia

A former Georgian Prime Minister believes Russia’s current actions in Ukraine have been caused by the fact Russian President Vladimir Putin "got away” with aggression against Georgia in 2008.

In an interview with CNN, Georgia’s ex-PM and current Ambassador to NATO Gega Mgaloblishvili, said six years ago after the Russia-Georgia war, Western powers did not make Russian authorities pay "a political price” for their actions against Georgia. 

He said Moscow was able to return to "business as usual” just a few weeks after the Georgia invasion and underlined this was one of the reasons Russia decided to use military force in Crimea.  

Mgaloblishvili noted if Russian authorities do not face serious consequences of their actions in Ukraine, as they did in Georgia, this may be a threat to European security and even cause new conflicts in other parts of the region.  

"Putin’s regime is corrupted and kleptocratic. It has its assets in the West, in the US and Europe. I think going for individual sanctions, freezing assets for those who instigate murders in the Maidan [in Kiev] and later those, who gave orders to invade a sovereign European state may bring some results,” Mgalobloshvili stated.

Mgaloblishvili served as Georgia’s Prime Minister from 2008-2009. In 2009 he became Georgia’s NATO representative.