Your Opinion
The following comments reflect the views of DW-WORLD.DE readers. Not all reader comments have been published. DW-WORLD.DE reserves the right to edit for length and appropriateness of content.
How can Javier Solana, Frank-Walter Steinmeier and other EU politicians appeal for respect of international law and national sovereignty of Georgia when they were enthusiastic supporters of Kosovo's independence? -- Jaksa Popovic, Canada
As a citizen of a country (Afghanistan) which has suffered a lot from the political games of big powers, it would be better for Georgia to work towards better relationships with its immediate neighbors and even let those areas that do not want to be part of Georgia go their own way. I do feel for the citizens of Georgia and similar countries as they are always the victims of their leaders' political adventures. As for the United States and Russia, please let other human beings to also breathe and live on this earth. -- Abdulsamad, Afghanistan
It is true that President Putin has been and will continue to be a factor in world unrest. He is using the Russian government to carry out a seemingly personal vendetta with the American government for what various actions taken by him have confirmed to be a belief that there is need to enter into a world conflict to tell the US that they are a force to be reckoned with on global issues. The US, EU and NATO should aid Georgia to ward off this rude behavior coming from Mr. Putin! Putin used his position in the Russian secret service to get to the presidency, which in itself would not have been considered by many as a bad thing but for the fact that he has very selfish personal goals in mind. I like the competitive political environment in the United States and, being an African who advocates equal rights for both black and white people on this earth, I will advise that the Americans along with the European community should not hand over the security and continuous peaceful existence of the mother earth to a bunch of criminals like Putin, Syria, Iran, Venezuela, and the Russia military at any cost! If Obama should wish to be the next president of the US, I strongly advise him not to ever allow Americans to bend their knees to irrational threats from Russia, Iran and China to weaken the American and African dream of a free world. -- Badirou J, Nigeria
I believe Russia is being a bully. They should respect Georgia's rights as an independent country. They do not do a very good job of taking care of their own citizens. -- John Scotttrain, US
I hoped to live long enough to see the day when the US is completely out of Europe. A lack of action or involvement by Europe between Georgia and Russia just tells me that Europe doesn't want to handle its own problems until it is entirely too late. Then the US will never leave Europe. Please act, NATO. Please act, EU. Please act, Germany. -- Kevin F. Coffman, US
The German deputy foreign minister is right putting most of the blame on Georgia for violating a 1992 ceasefire agreement with Russia. This means that unless the US can be persuaded to tell their friends in Georgia to keep the peace, Germany will not be able to be a major mediator in this bloody conflict which is killing many innocent civilians. Too bad for humanity in general. -- G. Gosau, Canada
It is very irresponsible from Georgia's government to take any military action. Who gave a Georgians a green light for military action? Thanks to the Georgian leaders, now there is a green light for Russia and they have been waiting for that for a long time. -- Zenon, Poland
Are you going to sit on the fence till the conflict burns out? If so, Russia wins. It is perfectly clear that Russia (Vladimir Putin) wants to re-establish itself as an imperialistic power in Europe. Its hopes in the Far East are diminishing as China is gaining momentum in becoming the number one world power. I think Angela Merkel must help the little guy Georgia or hell will break loose. That will be the next move for Kremlin. The Georgia conflict is not for NATO to step in; it is for the EU which by nature should be number two in the world order. -- Paul Heinila, Canada
This action is not going to cost the Russians anything. It was a stupid move by Georgia's president. It will allow the Russians to occupy disputed areas to protect the citizens there who are primarily Russian and want to be aligned and associated with Russia. If a vote were held, these separatist areas would want to leave Georgia. Now the Russian Army will save the time and expense of an election. Stupid move by Georgia. -- RE Drake, US
In the end, once a ceasefire is signed, I wish the South Ossetians well and hope that any international-brokered "peace treaty" will allow them to vote in a referendum and decide their own fate. If they really want to secede from Georgia, then it should be honored by the rest of the world. Let it separate and determine its own self-rule, just like Kosovo (which the USA had fervently supported for independence). -- Robert Thurstin Howell, US
Why cannot both parties have respect for the Olympic truce and a ceasefire declared for at the least the length of the Olympic Games in Beijing? To me this issue seems to be about the Sochi Host City of the 2014 Winter Olympics and if the fighting continues, Sochi should be stripped of hosting this event and a replacement city found as soon as possible. -- Stuart John Pearson, Australia
I have just read Deutsche Welle materials concerning the South Ossetian crisis and I feel that events are not presented in these materials in an objective way. For example, you have the message "Russia Extends Bombing Campaign as West Calls for Ceasefire." However, I haven't found yet the message "Georgia is still bombing Tskhinvali, increasing the number of civilian casualties." As objective and sound analysts you, of course, have already noticed that this little war was started by the Georgian side. Moreover, the coincidence of the start of the military campaign and the 2008 Olympics, and the immediate interview of Saakashvili on CNN, make you feel that Georgia carefully prepared this conflict from the mass-media point of view. And, of course, you noticed that Russian forces intervened in the fighting after Georgian forces killed 1,500 civilians during the bombardment of Tskhinvali. I highly appreciate that you show your objectivism stating number of refugees both from the point of view of the Russians and international organizations. However, you have not already stated if international organizations confirm that Russians perform ethnic cleansing, as you quote Saakashvili saying. -- Nikolay Zhuchenko, Russia
Fact: Russian troops never brought peace to any country or any region they have attacked and decimated! Save the citizens of Georgia! South Ossetians are Georgian citizens, as Georgian refugees that had to flee their homes years ago because of Russian troops and local criminals, burglars and drug traffickers. These criminals are not representative Ossetians. Save Georgia with all provinces and all citizens. Russia is a peacekeeper in Georgia the same way Iraq was in Kuwait. All Georgians demand that Russian troops leave the country, but there is no voice that any citizen of Georgia should be denied the privilege to live in his/her country. Georgia for Georgian citizens includes South Ossetia. Remove the Russian troops from the region and there will be an end of war and long-awaited peace for all. The old Georgian name for South Ossetia is "Shida Qartli," which means "inner/middle Georgia." If one looks closely at the map, it is clear why. It is in the heart of Georgia. -- Anna, US
