Géorgie — Russie dans le Caucase

Synthèse

Georgia broke diplomatic relations with Russia in 2008, following the August war and Russia's recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states on 26 August. They have not been restored under any subsequent Georgian government, including the one that froze EU accession. What makes the record worth holding is that almost nothing else followed the rupture: trade and transit through the Upper Lars crossing have grown, Russian visitors and money reach Georgia freely, and the two states deal with each other through intermediaries and through the Geneva International Discussions without either moving to restore relations. The severance is real, formal, and has not determined the relationship it was meant to define.

Pourquoi c’est important

It is the module's clearest demonstration that a formal diplomatic status and the substance of a relationship can diverge completely, and for a long time. A reader who takes "no diplomatic relations" to mean estrangement will misread Georgia's position; a reader who takes the trade to mean rapprochement will misread it in the other direction.

Événements associés

• La guerre russo-géorgienne 7 – 12 août 2008

  Militaire · Changement territorial

• La Russie reconnaît l’Abkhazie et l’Ossétie du Sud 26 août 2008

  Politique · Diplomatique

Ce qui reste inconnu

• This module records that relations have not existed since 2008 and does not itself record when they were established. `validFrom` is given as 1992, the standard date for the post-Soviet establishment of relations, and is context rather than a claim this record's sources establish. The load-bearing dates here are the 2008 severance and the eighteen years since.
• The severance is dated to 2008 at the precision this module carries. The day is not recorded here.
• Contact between the two states continues through intermediaries and through the Geneva International Discussions. Vigil does not publish the content of those channels.