Russia invaded Georgia in 2008 and thirteen years later “nearly 300,000 Georgians are still displaced from their homes,” United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday.
Blinken was speaking ahead of his meeting with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov today in Geneva, and made comments about the internally displaced Georgian citizens that lost their homes as a result of the 2008 conflict as well as the Abkhazian War in the 1990s.
Blinken said Russia aimed to turn its neighbouring states that are part of the European Union's Eastern Partnership - Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova - “into puppet states,” adding “if Russia occupies Ukraine its efforts to control their activities, to crack down on any spark of democratic expression will intensify.”
Once the principles of sovereignty and self-determination are thrown out, you revert to a world in which the rules we shaped together over decades erode and then vanish,” Blinken said.
I spoke today in Berlin at @BBAW_de about the threats posed by Russian aggression. Diplomacy is the only acceptable solution. Allies and partners stand united in support of Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/rtSU0Cz9LK
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) January 20, 2022
The US Secretary of State also stated “NATO has no intent towards Russia,” adding “NATO didn’t invade Georgia, Russia did.”
The war between Russia and Georgia began on August 8, 2008, and lasted for five days, leaving 408 Georgians dead following the armed conflict. About 26,000 people were left internally displaced and are part of the 273,411 IDPs in Georgia as of today.
Russia says the problem is NATO. On its face, that’s absurd. NATO is a defensive Alliance with no aggressive intent toward Russia,” said Blinken.
Blinken recalled the agreement reached in 1990 among the OSCE countries, including Russia. He said based on the Vienna Document countries agreed to “increase transparency and predictability about military activities, including military exercises,” noting that “now, Russia selectively follows those provisions.”
He further stated, “Moscow has failed to provide information on its military forces in Georgia.”
Blinken will hold a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov today in Geneva. Prior to this meeting, Blinken visited Ukraine and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.