‘Every free, independent country can together with NATO members discuss when it can join NATO. In December, we will have a first evaluation of the situation and we are on a clear path in the direction of NATO membership,’  German Chancellor Angela Merkel, speaking of Georgia in Tbilisi, 17 August

‘We must … determine whether Russia’s intervention was a one-time, brutal – and excessive – response, or whether it is ushering in a new hardening of Moscow’s line toward its neighbours and toward the international community, which would inevitably have consequences for its relationship with the European Union. Russia must realise that it will be all the more heeded and respected as it makes a responsible, constructive contribution to resolving the problems of our time,’ French President Nicolas Sarkozy, 18 August, writing in the Washington Post

'We… cannot continue with business as usual… as long as Russia does not commit to the principles upon which we agreed to base our relationship,' NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, 19 August, following a meeting of NATO foreign ministers 

'Our message was consistent to our Georgian colleagues ... “Avoid a direct military confrontation with Russia at all costs. You cannot prevail. It simply is not possible.” Russia is 30 times as big as Georgia, its military is several times as large. It can almost instantaneously roll tanks in,' Matt Bryza, senior US State Department official, 20 August, quoted by Reuters

'They [Russian troops] are clearly trying to empty southern Ossetia of Georgians, which I don’t think goes by any of the books that we deal with in international relations,' Alexander Stubb, Finnish foreign minister and head of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), speaking to the BBC, 25 August