Today the Moscow Times published an article on the the anniversary of the 2008 Russian-Georgian war.
"Russia’s war with Georgia sparked a political sensation on its fourth anniversary Wednesday when PresidentVladimir Putinsaid that he twice calledDmitry Medvedevon the eve of the conflict, contradicting the former president’s affirmation that he alone had made the decision to send troops," the article reads.
“I called Dmitry Anatolyevich twice, on Aug. 7 and 8, and the defense minister. We discussed the problem,” Putin told reporters during a news conference with his Armenian counterpart, Serzh Sargsyan, according to a transcript on the Kremlin’s website.
Medvedev said last year that he took the decision himself to go to war and that he did not talk to Putin for a whole day after ordering troops. Putin, who was then prime minister, was at the Olympic Games in Beijing when Georgian troops attacked the breakaway region of South Ossetia during the night of Aug. 7, 2008.
Putin’s comments gained special salience after retired top generals openly accused Medvedev of causing unnecessary casualties by acting too hesitantly.
The rare accusations were made by former chief of the General Staff Yury Baluyevsky and Marat Kulakhmetov, then the commander of the Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia. In a film published online last weekend, Baluyevsky says that if Medvedev had acted according to a plan approved by the General Staff, many lives could have been saved.
"I am convinced, until there was a kick from Vladimir Vladimirovich in Beijing, everyone here, to put it mildly, was afraid of something," Baluyevsky said. Medvedev sacked Baluyevsky two months before the war amid reports over disagreements with Defense MinisterAnatoly Serdyukov.
Medvedev defended his actions on Wednesday during a visit to South Ossetia to take part in commemoration events.
"This decision [to send the army to Georgia] was taken on time, quickly enough, we managed to avoid significantly bigger losses. I managed to take the decision which restored balance and brought peace," Medvedev said in the regional capital, Tskhinvali, according to news reports.
Four years later, relations between Moscow and Tbilisi remain in a deep freeze and the results of the four-day war continue to complicate foreign and security policy between Russia and the West.
Both countries' leaders remain on non-speaking terms and analysts say that even a handshake between Georgian PresidentMikheil Saakashviliand Putin or Medvedev would amount to a miracle.
Earlier this week, Saakashvili, a staunch U.S. ally, used the Aug. 8 anniversary for trademark speeches in which he accused the Kremlin of continuing to plot annexing all of Georgia.
"No matter how much our invaders and their local stooges may dream about it, the Soviet Union will not be restored," Saakashvili said in a televised address, the Civil.ge website reported.
