DUSHANBE. Aug 28 (Interfax-AVN) - U.S. President George Bush was among the first Western leaders to be informed by Russia of Georgia's attack against South Ossetia, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin informed Bush about Georgia's aggression in Beijing on August 8, minutes after receiving that information, Nazarbayev said during a meeting with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev in Dushanbe on Thursday.
"On August 8, we were in Beijing [at the opening ceremony of the Olympics], where we met with Vladimir Putin. At that moment he received a phone call. That was the time he and I learned that Georgia had attacked Tskhinvali," said Nazarbayev. Nazarbayev said he had seen Putin approach Bush, who told him that no one needs war.
Nazarbayev criticized the West for "ignoring the attack by the Georgian armed forces against Tskhinvali" and expressed support for Russia's actions.
'We believe all the subsequent actions taken by Russia were aimed at protecting the residents of the long-suffering city [Tskhinvali]. In response, Russia could either have ignored [Georgia's actions] or stopped the bloodshed,' Nazarbayev said.
Nazarbayev expressed support of the Medvedev-Sarkozy settlement plan and said he is confident that "peace will return" to the region.
Medvedev thanked Nazarbayev for his support and said that "responsibility for this bloodshed will rest with those who started it."