Mr. Chair, thank you very much.
Excellencies, thank you for being with us.
I want to start with a personal word of thanks to the Republic of Georgia. Just prior to the 2008 war between Russia and the Republic of Georgia, the Republic of Georgia provided the middle ring security for the United Nations assistance mission in Baghdad, Iraq, during very difficult times. I had the privilege of serving in that mission at the time, and I owe a debt of gratitude to the women and men from the Republic of Georgia who provided that security ring.
I say this with a view to highlighting for Canadians the importance of the Republic of Georgia as an ally in upholding the rules-based international order. It's very important that you're here today with us, Ambassador, to represent your country.
I want to take you back to the mention of the 2008 war. I think your words earlier in testimony were that Russia did not pay a price for the 2008 invasion and aggression. Can you talk a little bit more about that and maybe give us your view? If you could roll back history, how could the international community have extracted more of a price on Russia for that act of aggression that really started the ball rolling towards Crimea and then today in Ukraine?