'There are grounds to suspect that some people in the United States created this conflict deliberately, in order to aggravate the situation and create a competitive advantage for one of the candidates for the US presidency,' Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in an interview with CNN, 28 August

‘If instead of choosing their national interests, and the interests of the Georgian people, the United States and its allies choose the Saakashvili regime, this will be a mistake of truly historic proportions. For a start it would be right to impose an embargo on weapons to this regime, until different authorities turn Georgia into a normal state,’ Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, speaking in Moscow, 1 September

'We have oil and gas. We are ready to communicate with different organisations who want to cooperate, invest in the development of the resort business, agrarian sector, to take care of the construction business, reconstruction and development of transport infrastructure, etc. First of all, we need that two or three states recognise us. We are sure that in the near future ten to 11 states will recognise us,' Abkhaz President Sergey Bagapsh still promoting independence for Abkhazia, at a press conference in the Abkhaz capital, Sukhumi, 2 September

 'Thank God, common sense prevailed. We do not see any extreme conclusions or proposals, and this is very good. We have a foundation to continue dialogue with our European partners,' Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin reacting to the EU’s decision not to impose sanctions on Moscow, quoted by Russian news agency RIA Novosti, 2 September

'We will help your people to heal this nation’s wounds, to rebuild this economy, and to ensure Georgia’s democracy, independence, and further integration with the West. Georgia will be in our alliance,' US Vice President Dick Cheney, make a press statement with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili after their meeting in Tbilisi, 3 September