Georgian Government Releases Report on August War

On the eve of the last August’s war anniversary the Georgian government released a report reiterating its version of events leading up to the Russian invasion.

The report, which also details developments of early 90s, says that “intensive preparations were under way [by Russia] aimed at launching a full-scale war against Georgia.”

According to the report about 150 Russian armored vehicles and trucks entered into the breakaway South Ossetia through Roki tunnel at 03:41am on August 7. It says that President Saakashvili ordered the Georgia’s forces “to begin a defensive operation” at 11:35pm on August 7 amid shelling of the Georgian villages in the region.

“Consequently, on August 7 at 23:50, based on the order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Georgian Armed Forces, Georgian artillery units returned fire,” the report reads.

“The August events have clearly demonstrated to everyone that Georgia always had an international conflict with the Russian Federation and had no internal conflicts with its regions,” Temur Iakobashvili, the Georgian state minister, said while presenting the report on August 6.

“What we call separatists and separatism it was a weapon in the hands of Russia against Georgian statehood,” he said.

The report also contains an summary of Russia’s actions in the context of international law, which says use of force by Russia was “illegal and unjustified under international law”, which “constituted an egregious breach of Georgia’s political sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
 
The Georgian State Minister said that although “alarming statements” were still heard from Russia, now Georgia was in the international spotlight, which, he said, “enables us to deter Russia’s aggression and not to allow reoccurrence of bloodshed that our country passed through last August.”

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)