The U.S. State Department has denounced the missile attack against Georgia and violation of its airspace, demanding an urgent investigation of the situation.

“The U.S. condemns the August 6th rocket attack against Georgia,” reads the statement issued by the State Department’s spokesman, Sean McCormack. “We praise Georgia's continuing restraint in the face of this air attack and call for the urgent clarification of the facts surrounding this incident and for all relevant parties to cooperate fully with the Georgian Government's and the OSCE's investigation.”

The statement underscores the pressing need for progress toward peaceful resolution of the South Ossetian conflict and encourages Russia and Georgia to advance efforts to this end in a constructive spirit, even in the face of this latest attack. Washington also called for increased OSCE monitoring of the region of the Georgian- South Ossetian conflict.

The State Department once again confirmed its support to Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as to its efforts “to engage all relevant parties in defining an autonomous status for South Ossetia within Georgia's internationally recognized borders.”

The Georgian authorities have been spreading controversial information about a missile strike on its territory by Su-24 bombers carrying Russian markings for several days. According to the Georgian Interior Ministry, an airplane launched a Russian-made rocket against a radar in the region of the Georgian- South Ossetian conflict on Monday. The rocket did not explode for unknown reason. To prove its version of the “Russian trace,” Tbilisi has provided a video of the rocket’s remains and data from radars and civil aircraft. The press is making a stir, while Georgian politicians have launched a diplomatic campaign against Russia across a broad front, including in the United Nations.

Remarkably, Moscow is emotionally accused of the “act of aggression” even though the investigation has not been completed and official results are not yet published. Nor has Georgia provided any substantial evidence of Russia’s involvement. Moreover, the key evidence – the anti-radar rocket – was quickly destroyed by field engineers.

The statements of the Russian Air Force’s commanders and the Russian Foreign Ministry that Russia had nothing to do with the provocation are not taken into account; nor is Moscow’s willingness to take part in the investigation. No one in Georgia has been able to explain why Russia would do such a pointless thing that will not influence the course of events predetermined by history, especially given the ongoing stabilization of bilateral relations. The stale thesis of Georgian propaganda about the “imperialist” attempts to scare “the small, but proud Georgia” can hardly be taken seriously.

However, guesses remain guesses, while the scheduled meeting of the Joint Control Commission for Georgian- South Ossetian Settlement has been disrupted. The South Ossetian authorities consider the recent events a provocation on the part of Georgia and their mistrust of it is growing. Moreover, Tskhinvali demands that peacekeepers be armed with air defense systems to protect the airspace of the breakaway republic.

As is usual for Tbilisi, Georgia is mounting the anti-Russian rhetoric, while the U.S. State Department is supporting the Georgian Interior Ministry’s PR travails. An influential Georgian politician, former Foreign Minister Salome Zurabishvili, was even forced to admit that the strike reminded her of a poor performance directed by Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili.

Georgia is obviously unable to provide any proof of the “act of aggression on the part of Russia” and wants the international community to believe its word. Russia, in its turn, cannot ensure impartial investigation of the incident on the Georgian territory and to clear itself of suspicions.

Such incidents are becoming more and more frequent in Russian-Georgian relations. In most cases, political and diplomatic conflicts bordering on foul or provocation are initiated by Tbilisi. However, its accusations against Russia are almost never substantiated by any documents and are based on circumstantial evidence, which can be easily ignored. Everything depends on the political will of Washington and Tbilisi, which are trying to change the format of the peacekeeping operation in Sough Ossetia and Abkhazia, to internationalize the conflict and ensure unilateral advantages for the Georgian regime.