An independent report into who started last year's conflict between Russia and Georgia has been seized on by both sides as vindication of their position.

Russia said the EU-sponsored report recognised that Georgia had started the war. Georgian officials said it blamed Russia for escalating tensions. 

The report has been given to both countries' ambassadors but will not be released publicly till later. 

The death toll from the August 2008 war is generally put in the hundreds. 

Tens of thousands have been unable to return to their homes since the conflict. 

EU officials quoted anonymously by various media suggest that the report concludes that while the Georgians fired the first shots, the Russians created and exploited conditions that led to war. 

The report was commissioned by the Council of the European Union, and written by Swiss diplomat Heidi Tagliavini, with the help of 30 European military, legal and history experts. 

Its task was to investigate the "causes and roots" of the conflict, but not to determine guilt so it could be used for compensation claims, Ms Tagliavini's deputy, Uwe Schramm, told the AP news agency. 

He said the team had received "a lot of co-operation from all sides". 

The conflict erupted on 7 August 2008, as Georgia tried to retake control of South Ossetia, following a series of clashes. 

Russian forces quickly repelled the assault, and pushed further into Georgia. 

The conflict lasted for five days before a ceasefire was agreed. Russia pulled back, but built up its military presence in both South Ossetia and Abkhazia. 

Mutual blame

At the time, Russia blamed Georgia for the outbreak, accusing it of shelling civilians and attacking Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia. 

For its part, Georgia said it was targeting separatist forces - and repelling a Russian invasion that was already under way. 
 
Fighting damaged buildings in the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali


Given the European Union's relations with Russia have improved compared to a year ago, reaction in Brussels may be muted - welcoming the report itself, but distancing the EU from its content, says the BBC Brussels correspondent Dominic Hughes. 

Russia has recognised South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has vowed to protect them. 

Speaking in August at the opening of a direct gas pipeline to South Ossetia, Mr Putin said his country would not allow any "military escapades" by Georgia. 

Georgia considers both breakaway regions part of its territory. 

The rest of the international community, with the exception of Nicaragua and Venezuela, has refused to recognise their declarations of independence. 

A report published on the first anniversary of the conflict by Amnesty International said a total of nearly 200,000 people were displaced by the fighting, and that 30,000 remained displaced. 

It said most of the displaced were ethnic Georgians, many of whom continued to lack basic services and suffer hardship.