"President Mikhail Saakashvili was itching to do battle and authorities mistook messages from the United States as encouragement to use force."

Georgia Started War With Russia, Former Georgian Ambassador Says

TBILISI, Georgia — Before this summer's Georgia-Russia war, President Mikhail Saakashvili was itching to do battle and authorities mistook messages from the United States as encouragement to use force, Georgia's former ambassador to Russia said Wednesday.
But Russia also takes a share of the blame because it was trying to inflame Saakashvili's itch, Erosi Kitsmarishvili says.
His statements at a news conference added new intensity to a growing debate about what and who bear the onus for staring the five-day war that saw Russia drive deep into Georgian territory, caused devastating damage to Georgia's military, and aggravated already troubled Russia-US relations.
Georgia launched a massive artillery barrage Aug. 7 on the capital of the separatist region of South Ossetia, which was backed by Moscow and patrolled by Russian peacekeeping forces. Russian forces poured into the region, drove Georgian forces out and went on to take control of substantial swaths of northern and western Georgia.
The war ended with Russian forces firmly in control of South Ossetia and another separatist region, Abkhazia. Moscow has recognized both regions as independent.