| Publication |
2009.
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| Summary/Abstract |
IN AUGUST 2008, the Georgian aggression against South Ossetia drew far from unambiguous responses from the world community. The United States sided with the Georgian leaders and approved the use of force as a conflict settlement method. The European Union was divided while the CSTO members, on the whole, supported Russia and its resolute measures. Asian and African countries offered no opinion about the developments in the Transcaucasus, the region far removed from their continents. France, represented by President Nicholas Sarkozy, EU chairman, alone moved forward to discuss the practical measures needed to restore peace and stability in the Transcaucasus.
The meetings of 12 August and 8 September 2008 between the presidents of Russia and France laid a firm political foundation for ceasefire and charted the way toward regional security and the non-use of force by Georgia. Point 3 "International Discussions" of the joint Russian-French document of 8 September 2008 said: "International discussions, provided in the article six of Medvedev-Sarkozy plan dated August 12, 2008 will start on October 15, 2008 in Geneva. Preparatory discussions will start in September. These discussions will focus on thorough consideration of the following issues, particularly: ways of providing security and stability in the region, the issue of refugees and displaced persons on the base of internationally recognized principles and practice of post-conflict resolution, including any issue submitted with a mutual assent of the states."
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