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War probe

September 29, 2009

EU monitoring patrols have been stepped up in Georgia, as Europe prepares to hear results of an investigation about who started last year's war with Russia.

https://p.dw.com/p/JtOR
Opposition protesters in Georgia in 2008
Observers fear protest in the wake of the reportImage: AP

In November, the European Union commissioned an investigation into the causes of the August 2008 war between Russia and Georgia; the results are to be released on Wednesday, Sept. 30.

The study aimed to figure out what led to the outbreak of war between Georgia, on one side, and Russia and the Georgian separatist territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the other.

Troops at the ready

The war ended with Russian soldiers driving Georgian forces out of the separatist regions, which Russia now recognizes as independent states.

Moscow has thousands of troops stationed in the border areas, and it has not allowed EU monitors into the two separatist regions, where tensions persist.

Mission head Hansjoerg Haber told the Associated Press on Tuesday that the border area has remained largely quiet and he hopes it will remain so after the European Union report is released Wednesday.

Balanced report expected

The study was led by Swiss diplomat Heidi Tagliavini, an expert on Caucasus conflicts. The document has been kept under tight security amid speculation that it might point the finger of blame at either Moscow or Tbilisi, with potentially explosive consequences for local politics and international diplomacy.

However, media reports more recently have said that the document is likely to be a balanced text which criticizes both sides for their actions.

jen/dpa/AP
Editor: Nancy Isenson

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