Saakashvili Claims Acting in Self-Defense in WSJ Article

If the international response to Russia’s actions in Georgia “is not firm, Moscow will make other moves to redraw the region’s map by intimidation or force,” President Saakashvili said in his article published by the Wall Street Journal.

“Responding firmly to the Putin-Medvedev government implies neither the isolation nor the abandonment of Russia; it can be achieved in tandem with continuing engagement of, and trade with, Russia. But it does require holding Russia to account. Moscow must honor its sovereign commitments and fully withdraw its troops to pre-August positions. It must allow unrestricted EU monitoring, and accede to the international consensus that these territories are Georgia. Such steps are not bellicose; they are simply the necessary course to contain an imperial regime,” Saakashvili writes in the article under the headline – Georgia Acted in Self-Defense.

In the article, the Georgian President reiterates the points which he laid out before the Georgian parliamentary commission studying the August war on November 28 and repeated that he ordered to suppress separatists’ firing positions and to stop advancing Russian military “as any responsible democratic leader would have done, and as the Georgian Constitution required me to do in defense of the country.”

He said that the international community seemed to stuck on one question recently – did the Georgian military act irresponsibly to take control of Tskhinvali in the South Ossetia region of Georgia?    

“This question has been pushed to the center in large degree by a fierce, multimillion-dollar Russian PR campaign that hinges on leaked, very partial, and misleading reports from a military observer from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) that claimed Georgia responded militarily in South Ossetia without sufficient provocation by Russia. Judging from recent media coverage, this campaign has been successful,” Saakashvili writes.

He also reiterated Georgia’s readiness for international investigation in which “every shred of evidence and every witness” would be available. “Russia has yet to accede to such terms of inquiry,” Saakashvili said.

In the article Saakashvili also writes about his testimony before the parliamentary commission last week and says that “this is the first time that any leader from this part of the world has been scrutinized live on national television for his or her wartime decisions by a legislative investigation.”

The commission, whose official name is Temporary Commission to Study Russia’s Military Aggression and Other Actions Undertaken with the Aim to Infringe Georgia’s Territorial Integrity, is now expected to draft conclusions based on testimonies delivered before the commission by twenty three senior officials and former officials.

In a separate attempt by the Georgian authorities to promote the work of the commission internationally, Davit Bakradze, the Parliamentary Chairman, wrote an article, which was published by the Daily Telegraph under the headline – Stronger Georgian Democracy Emerges from Ashes of War.

“Russia’s August invasion has had many ugly consequences,” Bakradze wrote. “But if there is any silver lining, it is that the war gave us reason and opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to a democratic path—and this commitment is on view for all to see in our President’s testimony… before our parliamentary Commission.”

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