MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th August, 2018) Over 65 percent of Russians consider that Moscows decision to interfere in the 2008 conflict between Georgia and South Ossetia was correct, a poll by the Moscow-based Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) published on Friday showed.
A total of 66 percent of respondents said Russia did the right thing when participated in the conflict, while 12 percent said it was a wrong decision, and 22 percent of people could not give an immediate answer.
Over half of the respondents said that even back in 2008, they considered participation in the conflict a proper action, while only 7 percent said the opposite.
In addition, 60 percent of Russians said Moscow made the right decision by recognizing the independence of South Ossetia in 2008, with only 12 percent being against it.
The survey was conducted on August 18-19 and involved 1,500 respondents from across Russia.
The republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia declared independence from Georgia in the early 1990s. On August 7, 2008, Georgia launched a military offensive against its breakaway region of South Ossetia and then partially destroyed its capital, Tskhinvali. Russia sent troops to South Ossetia in an attempt to protect local residents, many of whom were Russian nationals. After five days of hostilities, Russia managed to expel Georgian troops from the self-proclaimed republic.
Moscow recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in August 2008.
