Georgia expects “objectivity” from EU investigation

Tbilisi hopes that the EU-backed international commission investigating the August 2008 Russian-Georgian war will present an “unbiased” report in late September.

According to Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Davit Jalagania, the report of the commission, headed by Swiss diplomat Heidi Tagliavini, will be delivered to the Georgian and Russian Ambassadors to the EU on September 30, the same day it is published on the EU’s official webpage.

“Despite anything that may be included in this document, the facts will remain unchanged – Russia conducted aggression against Georgia and still illegally controls Georgian territories. However this does not reduce interest in the document,” stated Jalagania, also noting that Georgia was one of the initiators of the investigation and has actively cooperated with the commission. “We hope that the report will be objective and unbiased despite the fact that some of the commission members have shared their opinions before publication of the report and some of these can’t be called objective,” stated the Deputy Foreign Minister, speaking at a press conference in Tbilisi on September 28.

The international investigation commission began work in December 2008, its goal being to determine the circumstances that led to the August bloodshed breaking out. The Tagliavini commission has visited both Tbilisi and Moscow to interview officials involved in decision making during the relevant period and also the Georgian breakaway regions Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Georgia has expressed doubts about some of the experts involved in the inquiry mission, accusing them of being connected with organisations financed by Russian state-owned companies. “You know we have raised questions about some of the experts who have been, and are still, working in this commission, but we hope that eventually the overall report will be objective and will confirm once again the truth known to everyone, that Russia committed an act of aggression against Georgia last year,” Chair of the Georgian Parliament Davit Bakradze stated in July 2009. Conversely, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on July 2 that “the Russian side expresses hope that the forthcoming report of the mission will be drawn up in as objective a form as possible, based on taking into consideration all the documents handed over to the mission’s experts. As is known, Russia has taken the most active part in this work.”

“It’s quite hard to expect any sharp accusation from the final report of the Tagliavini commission as the EU doesn’t want to spoil its relations with Russia, but nor does it want to give Russia some kind of preference,” Georgian opposition MP and conflict analyst Paata Zakareishvili told The Messenger on September 28. Zakareishvili noted that there may even be two versions of the final report – the softer one, which will be made public and other “sharper version” for the EU’s internal use. “Both Tbilisi and Moscow will be criticised for their inability to prevent the military actions, however I think the statements included in the report will be soft and susceptible to many different interpretations,” concluded the analyst.