UN Security Council Members Condemn Russia on Anniversary of 2008 War
By Liza Mchedlidze
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
On the 17th anniversary of the 2008 Russo-Georgian war, several members of the United Nations Security Council issued a joint statement condemning Russia's ongoing occupation of Georgian territories and its broader aggression against neighboring states.
"The Russian invasion of Georgia in August 2008 demonstrated the start of Russia's more aggressive stance toward its neighbors. Russia has continued down this path with its unprovoked and unjustified aggression against Ukraine," representatives of five Security Council countries said in the statement released on August 18.
The declaration followed a closed-door Security Council meeting, during which UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia, and the Americas Miroslav Jenca provided updates on conditions in Georgia's occupied regions and briefed members on the Geneva International Discussions, according to the Georgian Foreign Ministry. After the session, representatives from Denmark, France, Greece, the United Kingdom, and Slovenia, along with incoming member Latvia, held a press briefing where Slovenia's deputy permanent representative Ondina Blokar Drobic read the statement. The United States, which has joined similar statements in the past, was notably absent this time.
The text marked the anniversary of Russia's invasion and ongoing illegal military presence in Georgia's Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions. It reaffirmed strong support for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity and condemned Moscow's occupation, violations of the UN Charter, and continued steps toward annexation of the two regions. The signatories denounced Russia's "continuous provocations, violations of international law, and militarization of the two Georgian regions," including unlawful detentions of Georgian citizens, discrimination against ethnic Georgians, and unauthorized transportation links between Russia and Abkhazia.
They also condemned the killings of Georgian citizens Davit Basharuli, Giga Otkhozoria, Archil Tatunashvili, Tamaz Ginturi, Vitali Karbalia, and Irakli Kvaratskhelia, stressing that those responsible must be held accountable. The statement criticized Russia's failure to comply with the EU-brokered 2008 ceasefire agreement, which required withdrawal of Russian forces to pre-conflict lines and unrestricted access for international monitoring organizations. It underscored support for the Geneva International Discussions as the sole format for ensuring the ceasefire's implementation and the safe return of internally displaced persons and refugees.
Backing the European Union Monitoring Mission, the statement highlighted the importance of continued Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism meetings in Ergneti near the Tskhinvali region, while urging the "immediate resumption" of the same format in Gali, Abkhazia. "We once again call on Russia to fully implement the 2008 ceasefire agreement and withdraw its forces from the territory of Georgia without delay," the Security Council members said. "We reiterate our 17-year-old call to Russia to reverse the recognition of the so-called independence of the two Georgian regions, not to impede the creation of international security mechanisms, and to allow access of international human rights and humanitarian organizations to both regions." The statement closed by stressing that resolution of the conflict must be based on international law, including the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act.
Participants declined to answer questions about how a potential peace settlement between Russia and Ukraine might affect Georgia's sovereignty.
Following the session, Russia's first deputy permanent representative to the UN, Dmitry Polyanskiy, dismissed the Security Council discussions as a distraction. "You've just seen a very vivid illustration of the absolutely pathetic uselessness of European diplomacy. They just tried to take out of the mothballs a conflict that is not current today, with the only aim to undermine ongoing efforts to normalize relations between Russia and Georgia," Polyanskiy told reporters. He added that Moscow values trade and tourism with Georgia and seeks "good and neighborly relations" while rejecting what he described as attempts to use Georgia as a pawn in Western geopolitical interests.
