MOSCOW, August 8. /TASS/. In pursuit of its electoral interests, Washington's leadership triggered Georgia's attack on South Ossetia in August 2008 in the same manner as it set off the current crisis in Ukraine, Vladimir Zharikhin, the deputy director of the Institute of CIS Countries, told TASS.

"First of all, these crises started with the United States’ meddling. The leadership of the United States in 2008 masterminded, in fact, a war between Georgia and South Ossetia," the expert believes.

As Zharikhin noted, the electoral ambitions of Republican politician John McCain, who ran against Barack Obama in the US presidential election, played an important role in 2008.

"He instructed the then Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, whom he considered as his political minion, to organize a war in Georgia, which he did," the analyst explained.

Zharikhin recalls that amid the events in Georgia, McCain was ahead of Obama in the polls for two weeks, his ultimate goal being that "anti-Russian propaganda would propel him into the White House."

"But his ostensible success vanished in a flash. Quite clearly it was an organized campaign," the expert pointed out.

Zharikhin drew a parallel with Ukraine.

"Now we see that a possible negotiation process is being blocked. This time it is not the Republicans, but the Democrats who are the culprits," the expert continued. "As they get ready for the election, they need the war, the hostilities in Ukraine to continue. Then there will be some chance that the incumbent, Joe Biden, is elected again. The situation is identical," he stressed.

"McCain, who didn't care what would happen to Georgia, had personal ambitions. Now it’s Biden, to whom Ukraine is a last-ditch bid, because he has already lost everything elsewhere," Zharikhin said.

About 2008 events

In August 2008, there was an armed Georgian-South Ossetian conflict after Georgian troops attempted to take control of Tskhinval. Russia deployed troops on August 8 to protect Russian citizens as well as its peacekeepers stationed in the region. The Georgian forces retreated. On August 26, 2008, Russia recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.