EU-sponsored inquiry mission into the August war led by Swiss diplomat Heidi Tagliavini visits Moscow.

On February 4, the mission met with a group of Russian lawmakers.

“I think that the mood is very constructive; there are no foregone conclusions; there was readiness to accept the Russian side’s arguments,” MP Konstantin Kosachev, the chairman of the Russian State Duma’s foreign affairs committee, said after the meeting. “I think that our position has been heard and what is the most important, it seemed to me that the mission will not only focus on fact-finding, but also on setting out recommendations.”

“Today it is important to gather the facts and documentary evidence,” MP Sergei Markov said after the meeting. “Of course, Russia is cooperating [with the mission], we are holding meetings… I think that Ossetians and Abkhazians will also cooperate with them upon our request.”