New disturbances in the region at the time of anniversary of South Ossetia war

Today, August 8, is one-year anniversary of the start of war actions in South Ossetia which turned into a conflict between Georgia and Russia. The anniversary of the 2008 war is marked by Russia and Georgia by mutual accusations of unleashing the last-year armed conflict and of new provocations. An obvious growth of tension is also observed in the relations between Georgia and South Ossetia.

On August 6, the Georgian government submitted a "Report Related to the Full-scale Aggression of the Russian Federation against Georgia". During its presentation, Temur Yakobashvili, vice-Premier and State Minister of Georgia on Re-integration, stated that "the Russian aggression started much earlier than last August".

Russia insists that Georgia is the aggressor and that the Georgian leadership must be punished for the conflict in the Caucasus. This was stated at the press-conference in Moscow on August 5 by colonel-general Anatoli Nogovitsyn, deputy-chief of General Headquarters of RF Armed Forces. According to him, the Russian party had collected all facts related to the last August events in South Ossetia and the RF would strive for the punishment of the guilty.

After the August 2008 conflict, the situation in the relations between Georgia and South Ossetia remains tense. During the year, the parties have repeatedly accused each other of attacks and provocations. Such incidents have become much more frequent in the last days, as the anniversary of the armed conflict approaches.