Estonian PM: NATO not granting Ukraine, Georgia membership plan in 2008 was interpreted by Russia as “clear invitation” to establish itself militarily in Europe
In her comments on the decision, which was followed by Russia’s invasion of Georgia several months later and its military action in Ukraine in 2014 and this year, Kallas noted now it was the West’s “responsibility to learn the lessons” from past decisions. Photo: Reuters
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Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas 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.
In her comments on the decision, which was followed by Russia’s invasion of Georgia several months later and its military action in Ukraine in 2014 and this year, Kallas noted now it was the West’s “responsibility to learn the lessons” from past decisions.
We cannot repeat the mistakes we did with our response to aggression in Georgia, Crimea, and Donbas where Russia gained territories and was not punished for it. No legal consequences followed”, Kallas said.
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.
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.