2008 Russia-Georgia war showed “we cannot rely on negotiations with Kremlin” - MEP
In her statement Fotyga stressed that the 2008 events in Georgia had implications not only for that country, but also for the entire “European peace and security agenda”. Photo: European Parliament
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The 2008 war between Russia and Georgia showed “we cannot rely on negotiations with the Kremlin”, Anna Fotyga, a Member of the European Parliament, said ahead of the upcoming 14th anniversary of the Russian invasion that sparked the five-day war between the two states.
In her statement Fotyga stressed that the 2008 events in Georgia had implications not only for the country, but also for the entire “European peace and security agenda”.
Fourteen years ago, Russia invaded Georgia, triggering the first war of the twenty-first century in Europe. Only the strong commitment of the United States and the unity and courage of Central European leaders led by the late President of Poland Lech Kaczynski saved Georgia’s independence at the time and stopped Russian troops”, MEP said.
Today, it is clear that the 2008 events in Georgia have implications not only for that country, but also for the entire European peace and security agenda: more than 20 percent of Georgian territory is still under Russian occupation”, she continued.
Fotyga noted the ceasefire agreement brokered by the European Union had never been implemented by the “Russian aggressor”.
The lack of will, determination and strategic thinking to force the Kremlin to unconditionally implement the ceasefire agreement and withdraw from Georgian territories are factors that have allowed the Kremlin to repeatedly violate international law and continue its aggression, as it is doing today in Ukraine”, Fotyga noted.
MEP underlined that the European Conservatives and Reformists continued to work for Georgia to be able to fully detach itself from its Soviet past and join the EU, to which “its culture, history and tradition belong”.
The “truth” about the 2008 Russia-Georgia war has been confirmed in international courts through Georgia winning legal battles against Russia, Archil Talakvadze, the Georgian Parliament Vice Speaker, said in reaction to the European Court of Human Rights decision on inadmissibility of complaints by residents living in the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region (South Ossetia) on Thursday.
The previous Georgian Government did not impose sanctions on Russia following the 2008 war between the countries, only severing diplomatic relations with the occupier country, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili told reporters on Thursday in a briefing following a meeting with Polish colleague Mateusz Morawiecki.
The International Criminal Court in Hague has issued arrest warrants against three de facto officials of Georgia's Russian-occupied breakaway Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region in a case of torture and ill-treatment of Georgian civilians during the 2008 Russia-Georgia war, the Georgian Justice Ministry announced earlier today.
Georgia has won the 2008 war case against Russia in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The court released its judgement earlier today which says that Russia violated several articles of the European Convention on Human rights during the conflict and carried out ethnic cleansing of Georgians. The court said that Russia is carrying out an effective control of Georgia’s Tskhinvali and Abkhazia regions and is responsible for the violation of human rights of Georgian citizens.
The Georgian Government has chosen a “peaceful, prudent” policy as the way to restore territorial integrity and unify the country and believes it will definitely achieve the goal, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Monday in connection with the 14th anniversary of the Russian invasion that sparked the five-day war between the two states in 2008 and the ongoing Russian occupation of two Georgian regions.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas on Tuesday said the decision at the NATO Bucharest Summit in 2008 not to grant Ukraine and Georgia the Membership Action Plan had been interpreted by Russia as “weakness” and a “clear invitation” to establish itself militarily in Europe.