Sunday

1st Oct 2023

Georgia to EU: Putin is more 'dangerous' than you think

Four years after a war which shocked Europe, Georgia's EU ambassador has said that Russia is becoming "more dangerous."

The Georgian envoy, Salome Samadashvili, spoke to EUobserver on Thursday (9 August), after Russian President Vladimir Putin endorsed an inflammatory film about the conflict.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • War damage in Gori, Georgia (Photo: gavinsblog)

The YouTube video, entitled Lost Day, says Putin phoned the then Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, from China on 8 August 2008 to tell him to invade Georgia.

Putin on Wednesday confirmed the phone call and told Russian media he drew up plans for the invasion two years in advance.

"It's within the framework of this plan that the Russian side acted. It was prepared by the general staff at the end of 2006 or the beginning of 2007. It was approved by me, agreed with me," he said.

He added that Russian soldiers - who were stationed in South Ossetia, a breakaway Georgian region, as "peacekeepers" - trained and armed local paramilitaries as part of the plan.

"Our military specialists believed they could not provide assistance in a clash of regular armies, but they turned out to be much needed."

For some analysts, the revelations are designed to make Medvedev look weak in order to remove him from Russian politics.

For Georgia's EU envoy, they show the Union should heed Georgia's warnings that Russia is still a threat.

"The current Russian government is ... becoming more and more disdainful of the EU's opinion and openly shedding any pretence of respect for international law. They are [becoming] even more dangerous to neighbours like us," Samadashvili told this website.

She noted that Russia is to hold a military exercise - Kavkaz 2012, to take place in North Ossetia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another breakaway Georgian region - during Georgian elections in October.

"The statement made by Putin taken in the current context - its ongoing occupation [of Abkhazia and South Ossetia], the military exercise, its continuous attempts to destabilise our country - is a thinly veiled threat, an encouragement for those who committed ethnic cleansing against Georgian citizens," she said.

For his part, Georgia's foreign minister said in an op-ed for this website the EU should keep telling Russia to get out of occupied territories.

Georgian dreams

The war damaged Georgian President Mikheil Sakaashvili's international reputation.

An EU-mandated report published in 2009 said that he opened fire first on Ossetian irregulars, triggering the Russian response.

Meanwhile, the Georgian opposition - the Dream Coalition, a political movement bankrolled by Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili - is spreading news in the EU capital that Sakaashvili is corrupt and undemocratic.

The group has hired a top PR agency in Brussels, Burson-Marsteller, to get its message across.

The Georgian EU ambassador said Putin's comments shed new light on the 2009 war report.

She noted that Russian training of paramilitaries and Putin's 2006 plan go against the line that Russia attacked Georgia because Sakaashvili fired first.

"Clearly, after everything else failed to remove a pro-Western government from power, they [Russia] moved to a measure of last resort - full scale invasion," Samadashvili said.

She added that Ivanishvili's PR campaign is having limited results.

"Debate on Georgia in the European Parliament during the last session clearly demonstrated the failure of the lobbying groups to hijack the non-biased and objective discussion on the state of democracy in my country," she said.

Georgia rejects EU criticism of Tbilisi violence

Georgia's ambassador to the EU has said the European Commission made misleading statements about street clashes in Tbilisi that left almost 40 people in hospital and two dead.

US cables shed light on EU 'Friends of Russia' in Georgia war

A cache of secret US cables on the 2008 Russia-Georgia war paints a vivid picture of how the EU split into 'Russia-friendly' and 'Russia-hostile' clubs, with German diplomats "parroting" Russian arguments and Latvia suggesting that Nato should consider sending arms to Georgia.

Vandalised EU flag tells story of Georgia conflict

As EU leaders in Brussels meet to debate Russia relations while diplomats in Geneva discuss Georgia security, one Polish aid worker aims to remind politicians of the stark realities of the conflict by giving the European Parliament a vandalised EU flag.

Opinion

Punish Belarus too for aiding Putin's Ukraine war

While Belarus has not sent its own troops to fight Russia's war in Ukraine, the Minsk dictatorship has been heavily involved. As a result, Belarus must be punished for its involvement — what can the world do to sanction Belarus?

Latest News

  1. EU women promised new dawn under anti-violence pact
  2. Three steps EU can take to halt Azerbaijan's mafia-style bullying
  3. Punish Belarus too for aiding Putin's Ukraine war
  4. Added-value for Russia diamond ban, as G7 and EU prepare sanctions
  5. EU states to agree on asylum crisis bill, say EU officials
  6. Poland's culture of fear after three years of abortion 'ban'
  7. Time for a reset: EU regional funding needs overhauling
  8. Germany tightens police checks on Czech and Polish border

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  2. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators, industry & healthcare experts at the 24th IMDRF session, September 25-26, Berlin. Register by 20 Sept to join in person or online.
  3. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  4. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  5. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators & industry experts at the 24th IMDRF session- Berlin September 25-26. Register early for discounted hotel rates
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations
  2. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  3. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  4. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us