Royal United Services Institute: ‘12 years since August war, Georgia still faces Russian aggression’

The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), the world's oldest independent think tank on international defence and security, says that twelve years after the Russia-Georgia 2008 war Moscow continues to violate Georgia’s internationally recognised borders.

The article by Kakhaber Kemoklidze, head of the Office of the National Security Council of Georgia and Natia Seskuria, an associate fellow at RUSI, reads that a decade later, ‘Russia continues to violate both international law and the Sarkozy-brokered ceasefire agreement by continuing to occupy no less than a fifth of Georgia’s territory.’ 

On this day, 12 years ago, a six point ceasefire agreement between Georgia and Russia was mediated by then French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The agreement called for ‘the withdrawal of Russian forces to their lines of deployment prior to 7 August 2008’ and for allowing unfettered access for the delivery of humanitarian assistance,” the story says.

The authors say that the five-day war, during which Russian military forces launched a full-scale land, air and sea offensive against Georgia, took the world by surprise.

The war resulted in the displacement of over 150,000 citizens and the death of 169 servicemen, 14 policemen and 228 civilians. Kremlin propaganda attempted to legitimise its actions by claiming it was Georgia that started the war, but it is clear that the preparation for the military offensive started long before the August war of 2008, and was mainly due to the Kremlin’s inability to restrain Georgia’s pro-Western aspirations and foreign policy direction,” said the article. 

The authors state that yet, despite the human loss, economic destruction and the political implications of the war, ‘Russia never managed to achieve its primary objective – to return Georgia to Russia’s orbit.’ 

Read the full story here.