ConservativeHome: “Ten years on from Putin’s invasion of Georgia, the West must learn the lesson of its failure”

Western powers should learn from lessons of the 2008 conflict between Russia and Georgia to ensure the latter’s "inviolable path towards the west”, says a new piece by ConservativeHome, a British blog for conservative policies.

Writing for the website, Daniel Hamilton outlines the events that unfolded on the Georgian territory ten years ago and the "critical lesson” on the part of the west of failing to face the Russian aggression.

[The 2008 war] ought to have served as a wake-up call to the international community as to the policy the Putin administration would adopt across the wider region – instead, they went unheeded. The result is plain to see: today’s crisis in Ukraine”, notes the author of the article.

The opinion piece also involves an overview of Russia’s efforts at destabilising security and the push to the west in Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova, and an detailing of the intensified, if not overly efficient, ties between the west and the three countries in the recent years.

Since 2008, the west has been strong in its promises to Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine [...] and on a less sure footing when it actually comes to delivering practical results”, Hamilton says.

Economic hardships in the countries affected by the Russian interests offers more opportunities for Putin’s government to weaken support for their drive to the west, the article stresses further.

The answer to this is to intensify political, economic and military support to former Soviet states [...] [and] implementation of a solid timetable for NATO accession”, the opinion story concludes.

Read the full story here: conservativehome.com