The representative of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Luc van den Brande, is in Moscow on a monitoring mission. He says he’s concerned over the humanitarian situation in the region.

Although the Olympics do not involve politics, conflicts overshadow the sporting event, says four-time world junior welterweight champion Kostya Tszyu. He believes all wars must be stopped for that time.

A joint Georgian-Ossetian orchestra could help heal the rivalry between the two peoples, believes musical analyst, conductor and journalist Mikhail Segelman from the Musical Review Journal.

William Wilson from the Vanguard Group Investment Company joined RT to give his comments on the latest developments in Russia's relations with the West.

Breakaway republic of Abkhazia has officially asked Russia to recognise its independence. Dmitry Babich, a political analyst from Russia Profile Magazine hopes Russia will not openly support the breakaway republic’s independence.

As Russian troops are withdrawing from the conflict zone, American economist, philosopher and political activist Lyndon Larouche told RT that the Georgian assault on South Ossetia was probably a British -led operation with U.S. support.

European members of NATO managed to prevent Washington from making the “most odious statements” on South Ossetia, says Russia’s envoy to the alliance, Dmitry Rogozin. He spoke exclusively to RT after the meeting in Brussels.

U.S. plans to extend NATO to Russia’s doorstep are one of the main reasons behind American involvement in the conflict in Georgia, according to New York-based anthropologist Brendan Cooney.

Euro MPs were victims of the information war between Russia and Georgia, says Parliament member Tatyana Zhdanok - co-chairperson of the party 'For Human Rights in United Latvia'.

Russia could respond to the US-Polish missile treaty by moving more elements of its military infrastructure to Kaliningrad, suggests political analyst Aleksandr Nikitin.

According to the latest opinion polls, the majority of Poles are in favour of the deployment of American AMD on their soil. To some extent this is due to recent events in Georgia, says the Vice-Chairman of the Polish Parliament, Tadeusz Iwinski.

An observer from the Council of Europe, Mathias Ershi, who's currently drafting a report on the Georgia – South Ossetia conflict, says the devastated area cannot be left without peacekeepers for many years to come.

The Patriot missile defence system obtained by Poland as part of the deal to take ten missile interceptors, are only used against short-range ballistic missiles, so it all looks very suspicious, says Kirill Bessonov, a journalist with the Moscow News newspaper, in an interview with RT.

Russia's actions in South Ossetia were a response to a brutal assault by Georgian forces against Russian citizens, says Jeffrey Steinberg, senior editor of "Executive Intelligence Review” magazine.

Relations between NATO and Russia have cooled following the conflict in South Ossetia. George Friedman from Startfor - an online geopolitical intelligence publishe - joined RT to discuss the latest developments.

‘There should be an international investigation into how the war started in South Ossetia,' says Thomas de Waal, Caucasus editor at the Institute for War and Peace Reporting.

'The period of frozen Russia-NATO relations will not last forever and the sides will come back to mutually beneficial relations,' believes Konstantin Kosachev, head of the State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee.

NATO’s reaction to Russia's operation in Georgia was quite reserved in the circumstances, believes Irina Kobrinskaya, a political analyst from the Institute of World Economy and Foreign Affairs.

Aleksandr Pikayev, a political analyst from the Committee of Scientists for Global Security gave his views on NATO's foreign ministers' meeting.

NATO foreign ministers are holding an emergency meeting to discuss the situation in South Ossetia. Editor-in-chief of the magazine "Russia in Global Affairs" Fyodor Lukyanov says that Russia won't be concerned about criticisms from Brussels.

The conflict between Georgia and South Ossetia has become a genuine issue in U.S. presidential campaigning. The situation is very welcome to Republican contender John McCain, says an American political journalist Alexander Cockburn.

Mikhail Troitsky, a political analyst from the Moscow State University of International Relations, joined RT to discuss the pullout of Russian troops from Georgia.

Russia is doing everything possible to avoid a new cold war, but there is a possibility that history will repeat itself, said Konstantin Kosachev, the Head of the Russian State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee, in an exclusive interview with RT.

“Some NATO members are sure to ask questions about Georgia's entrance - 'Is this the right time?’” William Wilson from Vanguard Group Investment company told RT.

The shooting has stopped, but the battle may soon resume in the court room. Olga Shepeleva, a lawyer with the Public Interest Law Institute, joined RT to discuss the legal implications of the war.

In an exclusive interview with RT, Georgia's ex-President Eduard Shevardnadze said it was ‘a big mistake’ of Mikhail Saakashvili to send Georgian forces into Tskhinvali.

US journalist Christian Parenti believes America's backing of Georgia stems from its oil interest in the region. Parenti also gave the flipside of western media reports on the conflict.

American sociologist Matthew Maly says that the South Ossetian coverage was so biased in the western media that it appears to be a dress rehearsal for future biased coverage designed to scare Americans into voting for McCain over Obama.

The Russian government was too slow to react to the PR campaign launched by Tbilisi in the world’s media, believes Seamus Milne of Britain's Guardian newspaper.

Political analyst Sergey Markedonov joined RT to give his comments following the German Chancellor’s meeting with the Russian President on the situation in South Ossetia.

The war in South Ossetia is over, but all eyes remain on the Russian military, which is still in the region. The Russian Defence Ministry lieutenant-general Nikolay Uvarov says the army is currently busy with humanitarian operations.

Georgia wouldn’t have attacked South Ossetia without the green light from the U.S, believes Paul Craig Roberts, a former assistant secretary to the treasury in Ronald Reagan's administration.

George Friedman from political intelligence analysts Stratfor said the U.S. will use the South Ossetian conflict as proof that a missile defence system is needed in Europe.

‘South Ossetia cannot be compared to Kosovo,’ Richard Beeston, the Foreign Editor of the Times newspaper in London, said during an interview with RT about the conflict.

The EU has to explain to Georgia's President Saakashvili what democracy is, said Andrey Klimov, State Duma Deputy and the Head of the Sub-Committee on European Co-Operation.

Is signing the six-point peace plan on the Georgia-South Ossetia conflict enough to preserve peace in the region? Mikhail Stolyarov from the Russian Academy of Public Administration shares his opinion with RT.

Andrey Zolotov, editor-in-chief of Russia's Profile magazine, joined RT to share his views on the future development of the situation between Georgia and South Ossetia.

‘It's not unexpected the western media would back Georgia,’ says Andranik Migranyan, a member of the Public Chamber of Russia, a think tank working to improve the image of Russia in the world.

Russia is seeking to prosecute those connected with atrocities that it accuses Georgia of committing in Tskhinvali. Vladimir Pligin from the Russian State Duma Constitutional Law Committee says evidence is being gathered, so legal action can begin.

‘Now Russia is economically and to some extent politically and militarily strong again, which can be unwelcome for powers who got used to the Russia of the 1990s’ – that’s one explanation put forward  by Marc Almond from Oxford University about criticism of Russia from many western politicians.

For Professor Alecia Jaoeva, from Moscow State University, the tragedy in South Ossetia is a personal one. She comes from the region and her friends and family are still there. Alecia’s cousin lost her husband during the conflict. She joined RT to talk about the crisis.

Russia and Georgia have agreed a truce, but many issues still remain that are likely to hamper peace negotiations. John Laughland, from the Paris-based Institute for Democracy and Cooperation, joined RT to discuss what these issues are.

NATO has no moral right to call the Russian response to Georgian aggression in South Ossetia disproportionate, says Russian envoy to the alliance Dmitry Rogozin.

Western media coverage of the Georgian offensive in South Ossetia was unbalanced, believes Aleksander Pikayev, from Moscow’s Institute for World Economy and International Relations.

The head of the Carnegie Endowment Center for Peace in Moscow believes "serious analysis" and "heavy lifting by world leaders" is needed to bring about stability in South Ossetia.

'We were surprised by footage of bombed Gori – we were there and saw nothing like that' – says RT correspondent Mikhail Lebedev who has just returned from the conflict zone and witnessed the events.

There are no winners in the South Ossetian war, believes Aleksandr Nikitin, president of the Russian Political Science Association.

By launching an offensive on its breakaway republic of South Ossetia, Georgia has decreased chances of reclaiming the territory, says Dmitry Babich, a political analyst from Russia Profile magazine.

Walid Phares, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, who has written about Georgia and its breakaway republics joined RT to give his comment on the media coverage of Georgian - South Ossetian conflict.

A former British Diplomat in Moscow, Christopher Granville, discusses how the  Georgia–South Ossetia conflict might affect the often-fragile relationship between Russia and the West.

In a discussion of the Ossetian crisis with RT's political commentator Peter Lavelle, deputy editor-in-chief of the Zavtra magazine, Aleksandr Nagorny, said negative reaction and criticism of the West would not lead to any breakthroughs.

Russia should limit the use of military force against Georgia to avoid drawing other countries into the conflict, says military expert Ruslan Pukhov from the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies.

Tbilisi is turning the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict into a propaganda tug-of-war. Kirill Bessonov, a journalist with the Moscow News newspaper, has been looking at the issue.

Giulietto Chiesa, an Italian member of the European Parliament, said to RT Georgian president Saakashvili had no legal right to have a European flag behind his back declaring war to South Ossetia.

Natalya Narochnitskaya, Head of the European branch of the Democracy and Cooperation institute, shared with RT her view of the situation in South Ossetia.

Mahmoud Kanbar, a reporter for RT's Arabic network who has just returned from South Ossetia to Russia, spoke to RT about the bombing of Tskhinvali. He says Georgians were firing at everyone they saw there.

Joe Mestas, American citizen living in South Ossetia, who witnessed everything happening in the region, talked to RT and blamed U.S. and Georgian leaders for the outbreak of violence.

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Grigory Karasin, says Georgia has betrayed all the hard work done to resolve the conflict with its breakaway republics.

Peacekeepers in Tskhinvali said on Sunday that the city was coming under sporadic Georgian bombardment. Leonid Gusev, a political analyst from Moscow State University of International Relations, and RT's political commentator Peter Lavelle, discuss the latest developments in the conflict.

A task force from Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is on its way to Georgia’s sea border. Political analyst Aleksey Urazov from Moscow State University and RT's political commentator Peter Lavelle discuss the latest developments.

Georgia’ ferocious artillery attack on Tskhinvali has left the South Ossetian capital in ruins. Dmitry Babich, a political analyst for the Russian Profile magazine, and RT's political commentator, Peter Lavelle, analyse the course of the war.

RT military analyst Evgeny Khruschev says the new Georgia - South Ossetia conflict is not the first attempt of Georgia to conduct ethnic cleansing of its neighbours.

Georgia’s military offensive is a slap in the face for Germany, which recently tried to broker a peace deal.  That’s the view of Dmitry Babich, a political analyst from Russia Profile magazine.

The role played by the US in the Georgia-South Ossetian conflict must not be underestimated, says writer Matthew Maly.

The conflict in South Ossetia will consolidate Georgia’s elites, bringing them closer to the West.  That’s the view of Viktor Mizin, a political analyst from the Institute of Strategic Assessment in Moscow.

Tbilisi faces international condemnation for triggering a military conflict in its breakaway republic of South Ossetia. That’s the view of Konstantin Kosachev, the Head of the Russian State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee.

The Georgian President has called up his country’s entire reserve force while South Ossetia has appealed to Russia for help. Aleksandr Pikayev from the Committee of Scientists for Global Security looks at how the conflict might develop.

The Georgian Prime Minister says the offensive in its breakaway region of South Ossetia will continue until peace is re-established. Kirill Bessonov, journalist with the Moscow News, says Russia will not get involved militarily.

With forces from Georgia and South Ossetia exchanging artillery shells, political analyst Aleksey Urazov from Moscow State University says an all-out war in the Caucasus is close.

A new publishing house in Moscow has started to translate contemporary Russian literature into English. Its founder Natalia Perova spoke to RT's entertainment team about the project.

A US military jury has convicted Osama bin Laden’s former driver Salim Hamdan of terrorism charges. RT’s military analyst Evgeny Khruschev considers the significance of this particular trial.

The writings of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn had a global impact. William Brumfield, a professor of Slavic Studies at Tulane University, looks at how the words of one man changed minds both in Russia and abroad.

The publisher of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's controversial works since 1973, Nikita Struve, spoke to RT about the birth of The Gulag Archipelago, the book that led to the writer's exile.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn has been buried at Donskoy monastery in Moscow today. Olesya Nikolayeva, a poet and a professor from the Literature Institute in Moscow, says his life and works followed the Russian metaphysical tradition.

“People of my generation will never forget the first impression we got from Solzhenitsyn’s novel about life in Stalin’s gulag,” said Viktor Linnik, Editor-in-Chief of the weekly Slovo newspaper, who has known the writer’s family for years.

The Nobel Prize winner and dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn died in Moscow at the age of 89. The Russian President’s special envoy on international cultural co-operation, Mikhail Shvydkoy, says Solzhenitsyn was an expert on  “special Russia’s mission”.

Soviet dissident writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn has died at the age of 89. Historian and former Soviet dissident himself Boris Kagarlitsky discussed his legacy in RT studio together with Solzhenitsyn's biographer, D.M. Thomas.

Nobel prize winning author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn has died aged 89. Solzhenitsyn's books were the first to tell millions of people across the world about Stalin’s brutal repressions. Fred Weir of the Christian Science Monitor spoke to RT about the author's controversial life and brilliant works.

In an exclusive interview with RT, Radovan Karadzic’s brother Luka commented on the former Bosnian Serb leader’s alleged deal with Holbrooke.

Commenting on the total sun eclipse, which millions of people have witnessed in Russia’s Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Robin Scagell from the Society for Popular Astronomy in London told RT that all sun eclipses are different.

Almost 500 of Russia's Olympic team are leaving for the Beijing Summer Games which start on August 8. Russian tennis player Anastasia Myskina joined RT to comment on Russia’s chances at the Olympics.

Solar eclipses allow astronomers to embark on specific scientific studies, said Sergey Popov from the Sternberg Astronomical Institute at Moscow State University.