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“To establish stability in the southern borders has been one of the main targets of Russia’s foreign policy for centuries,” said Matthew Bryza, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, in the hearings “Russia, Georgia, and the Return of Power Politics” in Helsinki Commission, APA reports.
He said Russia was not pursuing right policy under certain conditions.
“Russia should understand that the existence of stable, democratic and developing Georgia is to the advantage of Russia,” he said.
Matthew Bryza also touched on the source of the conflict between the two countries.
“Mikhail Saakashvili’s decision to deploy troops in South Ossetia was a wrong step. But I think that Georgian President was the victim of provocation. I and officials of the Department of State several times called on Georgia not to attack South Ossetia. But it has very deep roots, the conflict did not start on August 7. Earlier Ossetian peacekeepers relying on Russia servicemen fired on Georgian villages and Georgian peacekeepers,” he said.
