TBILISI, Georgia, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- Georgia ignited last August's conflict but Russia provoked violence and exploited the consequences, a European Union inquiry released Wednesday found.
The EU report found no evidence a Russian invasion had commenced on Aug. 7 when Georgia ordered shelling of separatists in the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali, The New York Times reported. It also said Georgia broke international law when it used force against Russian peacekeepers in the city.
However, the EU report said it had been determined Russia went beyond reasonable defense in its actions, allowed ethnic cleansing in some Georgian villages and acted illegally when it recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as sovereign. The report also dismissed Russian allegations that Georgia was carrying out genocide.
Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini of Switzerland authored the report and urged its readers to look beyond Aug. 7. She said the actions on that date were just the culmination of mounting tensions.
"While the onus of having actually triggered off the war lies with the Georgian side, the Russian side, too, carries the blame for a substantial number of violations of international law," she said.
Both sides claimed the report vindicated them, the Times said.
