Dr. Khatuna Burkadze participated in the Georgian-French International Conference. She spoke about international legal aspects of Russian aggressive actions. Dr. Khatuna Burkadze underlined: “The issue of the use of force became even more crucial after the war in August of 2008 when Russia conducted an act of aggression against the sovereign state of Georgia. The international legal system was incapable of preventing the states to use force against each other, due to the lack of an effective means to protect and enforce international legal norms”.
She noted: “In contemporary international law legal regulations on the use of force derive from the UN Charter and norms of international customary law. Russia’s use of force was not authorized by the United Nations Security Council and cannot qualify as a lawful exercise of the right of self-defense. The Russian Federation forces invaded and occupied Georgian territory in violation of numerous international legal norms”.
“Russia invaded and occupied Georgia in the absence of an international legal justification for the action. According to international law, this was a typical act of aggression. Russia did not have the right to interfere in the internal affairs of Georgia and use military force. The UN General Assembly resolution on the principles of International Law declares: “states or groups of states have a duty not to intervene in matters within the internal or foreign affairs of any state”. Interference in the internal or foreign affairs of any country is considered a violation of international law,” – emphasized Dr. Khatuna Burkadze.
Dr. Khatuna Burkadze highlighted: “The 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia in gross violation of all international norms and the occupation of 20% of the country’s territory, the annexation of Crimea in 2014, and the ongoing, full-scale military aggression waged by the Kremlin against Ukraine have shown again that Russia pursues the aim to dismantle the rules-based international security system, to undermine the efficiency of international institutions and to regain its influence over post-soviet space. In this regard, Russia uses all illegal methods and ignores fundamental norms”.
