Publication

This paper explores background and implications of the Russian-Georgian conflict that erupted in August 2008. It provides a chronology of the violence, addresses the challenges associated with the subsequent ceasefire and analyzes the implications for Georgia, Russia, the US, the EU and the UN. The paper argues that the crisis reflects serious mistakes by the US and the EU in Georgia since 2004, most significantly the failure to adequately press Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili to abandon a quick-fix approach toward restoring Georgian control over South Ossetia and Abkhazia.