With President Vladimir Putin’s troops 18 months into their war against Ukraine, security chief Dmitry Medvedev has hinted that Russia may be plotting military action against other former Soviet republics.
Medvedev – the deputy chairman of Security Council of Russia – made his remarks during the course of a comment piece written for Russia’s Argumenty I Fakty newspaper.
In it, he suggested his country would be prepared to consider the annexation of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Georgia’s breakaway republics.
Medvedev, 57, a former Prime Minister who also served as President from 2008 to 2012, wrote: “We remain ready to tackle problems at the negotiating table in the spirit of the UN Charter.
“But if our concern has real outlines, we will not hesitate.
“The idea of joining Russia is still popular in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
“It could quite possibly be implemented if there are good reasons for that.
“For the West, this turn of events will be another shameful fiasco and another symbol of a catastrophic loss of influence.
“And history severely punishes all those who neglect its lessons.”
Georgia declared its independence in 1991 after the collapse of the USSR.
However, the country descended into civil war a year later, with parts of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast under the control of Russian-backed separatists.
Russia previously attacked Georgia in 2008, in what is widely regarded as the first European war of the 21st century.
Russian troops entered both Abkhazia and South Ossetia, with 169 Georgian soldiers killed, before Mr Medvedev signed a decree which formally recognised the two regions as independent states.
Georgia declaring the move to be an annexation of its territory.
Most United Nations members also refuse to acknowledge the independence of the two breakaway regions.
Tbilisi was critical of both Russia 2014 annexation of Crimea and last year’s full-scale invasion, as a result of which Moscow annexed four more regions in September, 2022.
Georgia, which relies on Russia for both tourism and wine exports, has not so far joined the West in imposing sanctions.
