Was the August War avoidable?

One of the main topics that was discussed on the sixth anniversary of the August War was a possibility of avoiding the military confrontation in August 2008. The current government members and certain part of analysts believe that in the case of corresponding policy, Georgia could have avoided the war. In the context of regulating the relationship with Russia, making such statements by the government is significant. However, the previous officials from the United National Movement are unanimous that Russia would have used any pretense whatsoever to have launched a war.

The Georgian state minister for reconciliation and civil equality Paata Zakareishvili assures that the Russians had trapped the previous government. He stresses that there is a great deal of evidence that the war could have been avoided.

Minister of Refugees Sozar Subari says that the failure of diplomacy under the former government also caused complications and provocations.

While speaking on the casus belli, the current government members also highlight the positive moves achieved under their leadership in terms of Georgian-Russian relations. They stress that the Georgian Dream government has managed to somewhat normalize relations with Russia and create a peaceful environment.

Former Deputy Foreign Minister Nikoloz Vashakidze says that the August War was masterminded and well-planned by Russians. However, he says that nevertheless, Georgia could have avoided the war if it had acted in a cautious and more flexible way.

Analyst Elene Khoshtaria even speaks about the ways on how Georgia could have ignored any provocations. She admits that the former President Mikheil Saakashvili should have informed and mobilized the international community as soon as the Russians began to open fire on Georgian villages and should have then left the CIS. She stressed that these steps would have created a very different juridical situation.

The theory is not shared by the analyst Gia Nodia. He is sure that it would have been impossible for Georgia to have avoided the war owing to the Russian aggressive intentions.