Zelensky on Russo-Georgian war anniversary: regional, global security mechanisms failed

Zelensky on Russo-Georgian war anniversary: regional, global security mechanisms failed

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that Russia’s invasion of Georgia back in 2008 and then of Ukraine in 2014 and 2022, pointed at the failure of regional and global security mechanisms. 

On the 14th anniversary of the Russia-Georgia war, Zelensky suggested that Russia’s aggressive actions in Georgia and Ukraine could be discussed “in one context”.  

 

"These days, the international community is recalling Russia's war against Georgia in 2008. They are talking a lot about the causes of this war and its consequences. They are talking about the fact that the refusal to hand over the NATO membership action plan to Ukraine and Georgia increased the courage of the Russian Government, but that war has not yet been consigned to history, it has not. It is the past. That is why it is necessary to talk not only about what was, but also about what can be done. The challenges of that time are still relevant today. And not only because the threat of continued Russian aggression in this part of the Caucasus remains, even though it has been frozen for now”, Zelensky said. 


He stated that Russia’s wars in 2008, 2014 and 2022 had “different scale and character, but what happened has one essence - the regional and global security mechanisms did not work”. 


“That is why the principle of necessary prevention is needed in international relations, which we have been asking for for a long time, even before February 24. If it is already clear that some state is preparing aggression - unjust, unprovoked, illegal aggression, then the world's response should be similar to the aggression that has already happened. There is no need to wait for strikes and victims, it is necessary to act so that such things are not allowed”, Zelensky said. 


Russia launched a full-scale aggression against Ukraine on February 24 of this year. 


Hostilities have been in progress since then.





Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that Russia’s invasion of Georgia back in 2008 and then of Ukraine in 2014 and 2022, pointed at the failure of regional and global security mechanisms. 

On the 14th anniversary of the Russia-Georgia war, Zelensky suggested that Russia’s aggressive actions in Georgia and Ukraine could be discussed “in one context”.  

 

"These days, the international community is recalling Russia's war against Georgia in 2008. They are talking a lot about the causes of this war and its consequences. They are talking about the fact that the refusal to hand over the NATO membership action plan to Ukraine and Georgia increased the courage of the Russian Government, but that war has not yet been consigned to history, it has not. It is the past. That is why it is necessary to talk not only about what was, but also about what can be done. The challenges of that time are still relevant today. And not only because the threat of continued Russian aggression in this part of the Caucasus remains, even though it has been frozen for now”, Zelensky said. 


He stated that Russia’s wars in 2008, 2014 and 2022 had “different scale and character, but what happened has one essence - the regional and global security mechanisms did not work”. 


“That is why the principle of necessary prevention is needed in international relations, which we have been asking for for a long time, even before February 24. If it is already clear that some state is preparing aggression - unjust, unprovoked, illegal aggression, then the world's response should be similar to the aggression that has already happened. There is no need to wait for strikes and victims, it is necessary to act so that such things are not allowed”, Zelensky said. 


Russia launched a full-scale aggression against Ukraine on February 24 of this year. 


Hostilities have been in progress since then.