Kerry: “Nothing was done after Russia invaded Georgia in 2008”

When Russia invaded Georgia in 2008, no sanctions were imposed by the United States, says US Secretary of State John Kerry.

Kerry spoke yesterday at a US Institute of Peace event and compared how the Obama Administration had responded to Russia’s intervention in Ukraine with how the Bush Administration had reacted to Russia’s invasion of Georgia.

See a video collage by www.cnsnews.com.

"I don’t want to be pejorative about anything, but Russia went into Georgia, into [Georgia’s breakaway regions of] South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and nothing was done – no sanctions, nothing”, he said.

"We [the Obama Administration] came in and they [the Russians] went into Ukraine, and we galvanised Europe and put sanctions in place”, he added.

Kerry said these sanctions are a heavy burden on Russia’s shoulders and although some in Europe want these sanctions abolished, the Obama administration has managed to keep them in place.