2013 in Georgia (country) new government repeatedly stressed their adherence to Georgia’s pro-Western foreign policy course and intention to improve relations with Russia, which had fought a war with Georgia over breakaway South Ossetia and Abkhazia in 2008. Despite verbal overtures and meeting between Georgian and Russian diplomats, the relations between the two countries showed no significant improvement. Georgia protested against installment of barbwire fences by the Russian military along the South Ossetian demarcation line. In November, Georgia initialed an association agreement with the European Union and won praise from NATO for reforms. 2013 in Georgia (country) In 2013, Georgia finalized its first-ever peaceful
Russia–South Ossetia relations recognition was condemned by the European Union, United States, NATO, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, amongst others, with some calling for Russia to rescind its recognition. Many high level Russian politicians including Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov, Chairman of the State Duma Boris Gryzlov, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov, Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin and Permanent Representative of Russia to NATO Dmitry Rogozin, rejected the criticism, and have stated that Russian recognition of South Ossetia is irreversible. In an interview to Vesti in August