Was there a chance to stop a major escalation of a conflict that was missed?

 On Thursday evening, August 7, the Russian Ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin arrived for a meeting of the United Nations Security Council with a request.  A letter he submitted to the Council (S/2008/533) asked that a meeting be held to discuss events taking place in Georgia. The members of the Security Council gathered and decided to hold consultations. The consultations were held in a closed door session. It was not till early in the morning on August 8, Friday, that a public meeting of the Security Council was convened.

 The meeting was convened around 1 a.m. Friday, August 8.

 In his statement to the members of the Security Council, the Russian Ambassador… weiter lesen