Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has described Russia’s 2008 recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as an act of “geopolitical justice,” arguing that Moscow’s decision completed what he called the two regions’ long “national liberation struggle.”

Ahead of the August 26 anniversary of the recognition, Medvedev repeated Moscow’s version of the August 2008 war. He claimed that then-President Mikheil Saakashvili had launched an “unprovoked” attack on South Ossetia, forcing Russia to intervene.

Medvedev noted that Russia’s military operation was aimed at stopping the fighting and protecting civilians. He maintained that Moscow subsequently concluded that recognizing Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states was necessary to provide lasting security and stability.

On August 26, 2008, Medvedev signed decrees recognizing both regions as independent states. Russia established diplomatic relations with their de facto authorities shortly afterward.

Medvedev used the interview to connect the 2008 war with Russia’s current war in Ukraine. He drew a direct comparison between Saakashvili and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, portraying both as leaders who, in Moscow’s view, were encouraged by Western governments to confront Russia. He highlighted that the parallels between the Georgian and Ukrainian conflicts were “quite clear” and argued that Western states seek to draw neighboring countries into confrontation with Russia.

Medvedev also presented Russia’s intervention in 2008 as an act of protection rather than territorial expansion. “The most important thing is that we saved two brotherly peoples from extermination,” he said, repeating Moscow’s claim that Russian military action prevented the populations of Abkhazia and South Ossetia from being destroyed.

He accused the United States and European countries of encouraging the 2008 conflict in an effort to weaken Russia and described possible NATO expansion into former Soviet republics as an “existential threat” to Moscow.

Russia has maintained military bases in both Abkhazia and South Ossetia and has expanded political, security and economic ties with their de facto authorities. Medvedev stressed that Moscow would continue supporting South Ossetia’s institutions, economy and social development.

For Georgia, however, August 26 marks the consolidation of Russian military control over territories that Tbilisi and most of the international community continue to recognize as part of Georgia. Medvedev’s characterization of the recognition as “geopolitical justice” therefore remains directly opposed to Georgia’s position on the status of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.