For first time in 17 years, US refuses to condemn Russia at UNSC over conflict in Georgia

MOSCOW, August 21. /TASS/. The United States has declined to condemn Russia at the UN Security Council for its actions in August 2008, the newspaper Kommersant reported, noting that this is the first time since 2008 that the United States has not joined a joint statement by several UN Security Council members in support of Georgia's territorial integrity.

The declaration was signed by European states on the Security Council, namely the United Kingdom, France, Slovenia, Denmark, and Greece. The signatories drew a parallel between the presence of Russian troops in Abkhazia and South Ossetia and the special military operation in Ukraine, affirming their support for "the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders."

"Those who oppose this process are interested in turning Georgia into a pawn solely for their own geopolitical interests," stated Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s Acting Permanent Representative to the United Nations, as quoted by the publication.

In the early hours of August 8, 2008, Georgia launched an armed attack on South Ossetia. Russia moved to defend the republic’s citizens, many of whom had obtained Russian citizenship by then, as well as its peacekeepers, who had been stationed in the region since 1992. More than 1,000 people, including 72 Russian servicemen, were killed in the five-day military conflict. On August 26, 2008, Russia recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another former Georgian autonomous region.