Abstract
When the EU, under the French Presidency, acted as a peace mediator during the Russo-Georgian war in August 2008, it was widely seen as a sign of the EU’s growing role in issues of war and peace in world politics. The EU acted swiftly and in a seemingly united manner in a difficult situation, and managed to broker a cease-fire between the conflicting parties. The EU also decided to establish a monitoring mission to Georgia and to launch an international fact-finding mission to investigate the origins and the course of the conflict. Together with the UN and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the EU is also hosting the peace talks between Russia and Georgia in Geneva. Jean-Pierre Jouyet (2009, p. 88), the French Minister for European Affairs, argued that the Georgian crisis was as important for European diplomacy as the Euro was for European economic politics. The EU Council report on the implementation of the European Security Strategy also highlighted the Georgian experience by declaring: “Our Georgia mission has demonstrated what can be achieved when we act collectively with the necessary political will” (European Council, 2008).
I believe we can say with a straight face that the EU rose to the occasion. We have acted in unity, with determination and we have achieved clear results.
Javier Solana, 2008
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© 2011 Tuomas Forsberg and Antti Seppo
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Forsberg, T., Seppo, A. (2011). The Russo-Georgian War and EU Mediation. In: Kanet, R.E. (eds) Russian Foreign Policy in the 21st Century. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230293168_7
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