Fireworks over Georgia

[MosJan]

News Send to friend | Print version http://www.russiatoday.com/media/news/5/48ac291654522.jpg

 

Abkhazian soldier with the breakaway republic's flag (AFP Photo / Viktor Drachev) August 20, 2008, 18:04

Abkhazia officially appeals to Russia for independence

The Abkhazian Parliament has approved an official appeal to Russia to recognise its independence. The appeal was made by Abkhazian President Sergey Bagapsh to Russia and to the governments of other countries to recognise Abkhazia's independence. Bagapsh, who was present at the parliament session, said that now, a week after Georgia's aggression against South Ossetia, is the best time for both Abkhazia's and South Ossetia's recognition.

 

All the deputies who took part at the session agreed that the Abkhazians as well as South Ossetians can not live together with the Georgians in one state.

 

A rally is planned for tomorrow in Abkhazia's capital of Sukhumi and thousands of people are expected to come to express their support. Back in 1999 there was a referendum held in the breakaway republic on its future status, and 97.7 per cent of the voters supported the idea of independence.

 

Earlier the Russian Presdient Dmitry Medvedev offered his support to the two breakaway republics

 

"We will support any decision on the status of Abkhazia and South Ossetia made by their people in accordance with the UN Charter and other international conventions. We will not only support such decisions, we will guarantee their enforcement,” Medvedev said last week.

 

Both South Ossetia and Abkhazia fought wars of independence with Georgia in the early 90s - and won de facto sovereignty. But the roots of the conflict between Georgia and its breakaway regions can be traced back much further.

[MosJan]

 

Medvedev promises withdrawal by Friday

Russia will withdraw its peacekeeping contingent from Georgia to the temporary security zone by August 22. The rest of the troops will be moved back to South Ossetia and Russia. President Medvedev made the promise in a telephone conversation with France's President Sarkozy on Tuesday. According to Russian authorities, it will take longer to withdraw than expected because many roads have been blocked or damaged.

 

Speaking at a news briefing in Moscow, Russian General Staff Deputy Head, Anatoly Nogovitsyn, said, “We are currently pulling out rear units and heavy weaponry”.

 

”We are also clearing withdrawal routes as the Georgian army left a lot of weaponry including tanks on the roads, which are hindering the withdrawal,” he said.

 

Nogovitsyn stressed the troops are not being completely withdrawn, but will be pulled back to the South Ossetian border to continue providing protection and stability in the region.

 

“The decision made by the Joint Control Commission in 1999, which is the only legitimate document we are using as our guidelines and which has been signed by the Georgian side as well, says that a special commission determines where peacekeeping forces will be located, based on the situation on the ground and the existing threats,” he explained.

 

Meanwhile, the Russian military is claiming that some of the Georgian military units in the region are acting without command and are out of President Saakashvili's control. They are allegedly preparing acts of sabotage against Russian troops stationed in the region.

 

Russian peacekeepers have disarmed a group of 20 servicemen in the Georgian coastal city of Poti, and have handed them over to Georgian authorities. Russian troops will remain in Poti until a local administration is formed in the city.

 

Prisoner exchange

 

On Tuesday Nogovitsyn confirmed Georgia had no more captured Russian servicemen. Russia handed 15 Georgian servicemen over to Georgia and received five Russians in exchange, including two pilots.

[MosJan]

News Send to friend | Print version http://www.russiatoday.com/media/news/d/48abf98cc63a3.jpgAFP Photo / Mario Tama August 20, 2008, 14:37

UN resolution rejected by Russia

Russia has rejected a new draft United Nations resolution on South Ossetia at an emergency session held in New York. Moscow says the text doesn't entirely reflect the six principles of settling the conflict, drawn up by the presidents of Russia and France last week. A vote on the issue is likely to provoke a veto from Russia. The Georgian issue gathered UN Security Council members together yet again. This time it was France that called for the session, calling for a resolution to be drafted and implemented by Security Council members.

 

With the Medevev-Sarkozy six-point plan on the table, this should have been a simple task. However, there were alterations to the main principles agreed upon by the pair.

 

Russia says the points left out of the French-proposed paper are far from minor.

 

“They are not referring to any additional security measures at all. They are referring tog ‘the immediate withdrawal of Russian forces and only then’; they are taking things upside down and they are throwing in - to make it even more bizarre - a heavily political clause - about territorial integrity,” said Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s ambassador to the UN.

 

Some Security Council members were eager to criticise Russia for keeping troops in Georgia despite an agreement on a ceasefire.

 

Russia says it’s fully complying with the existing agreement and that the meeting is another attempt to portray the aggressor as the victim. Russia also says it will not agree to a resolution that is in any way, shape, or form different from the Medvedev-Sarkozy plan, and a united decision from the Security Council remains at a stalemate.

 

Humanitarian crisis discussed

 

Meanwhile, the Georgian ambassador to the UN, Irakli Alasania, has made further attempts at calling Russia’s actions destructive.

 

“I would like to focus your attention on the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Georgia on the territories occupied by the Russian armed forces”, he said.

 

However, according to Russia’s ambassador to UN Vitaly Churkin, this is far from the truth.

 

“No one is carrying out such a large-scale humanitarian operation as Russia is in the conflict zone. No one. No country or humanitarian organisation is doing as much as Russia, and not only in South Ossetia, but also on some Georgia territories”, he said.

 

 

[MosJan]

THE SAD DESTINY OF PROJECT-STATES

• http://www.armtown.com/img/photo/has_en_280589789.jpg
• Many people argue about the issue of "why did Georgian president Mikhail Sahakashvily invade South Ossia just before the Olympic games in Beijing?" But it is a big question whether the Georgian President takes decision by himself. Actually if we observe the results of the invasion of the Georgian army into South Ossia from the point of view of Georgian nationalist, then we will come to a conclusion that Sahakashvily is either a Russian agent or he has mental problems.

   

  Judge yourselves the recent Georgian military drive led to the following: South Ossia got rid of its Georgian inhabitants, Abkhazia occupied Kodor gorge, and finally the Russian troops appeared in Georgian territory – in Gory and Zugdidy. Which means that Russian "hawks" fulfilled their dream of forcing Georgia to its knees.

   

  We can find certain logic in the recent steps taken by Georgia, if we observe them in the context of the orders received from its backer - the US leadership.

   

  It is not a secret that the US made great use of the results of South-Ossian developments, by isolating its rival Russia in the international arena. The meeting of NATO member country Foreign Ministers, organized yesterday, was aimed at the before mentioned, which put forward serious demands for Russia. Later the USA and its allies can use this fact to deprive Russia from the right of organizing 2014 Olympic games.

   

  But this will not change anything for thousands of Georgians, who over again appeared in the role of refugees.

   

  Georgia is really a "special" country, as it is accepted in the present international language, it is a project-state and the decisions are taken in quite different places. By the way Ukraine is also considered a project-state.

   

  For the implementation of the recent bizarre decisions taken by the Georgian leadership, all the means – arms and techniques and even the "advisers" were imported from overseas. The last proof is the armaments abandoned by the Georgian army, which has been found in South Ossia and Kodor gorge, which costs hundred million dollars. The quantity of those armaments was so big that Abkhazian leadership even intended to officially thank Georgian President M. Sahakashvily.

   

  But neither the latter nor the Georgian servicemen are concerned about it because they are far not responsible for the recruitment of their arsenals.

   

  Moreover, recently Swedish journalist Wolfgang Hanson and Matthias Carlson clarified that because of the recent developments in South-Ossia Belgian PR-consultant Patrick Worm, who is also the consultant of Aspect Consulting PR-Company visited Tbilisy to organize a propaganda PR-campaign against Russia. Most of his partners in Aspect Consulting are in NATO's headquarter in Brussels at the moment and the preparation works of this propaganda campaign has started still in November of this year.

   

  It is quite understandable that in this sphere as well Georgia and its people are in the role of simple puppets, because they don't have any idea from where this information comes and why they sow this much hatred towards the neighbor countries and peoples.

   

  It turns out that Georgia is, in reality, a virtual state, which gets orders to attack South Ossia, to use certain amount of armaments in order to completely annihilate Tskhenvaly, and later retreat, so that their Western backers can have the possibility to hue and cry, and spread misinformation by the help of their PR-Consultant who has long ago visited Tbilisy from Brussels.

   

  It is not excluded that tomorrow this virtual state, to be more precise, those who lead this country, will come to a decision to partake in US's new geopolitical initiatives – against Russia, Iran and other countries of the region. And every time we will record the fact that Georgian people suffer over and over again having no idea of the reasons.

   

  American project-states, Georgia in South Caucasus and Ukraine in Eastern Europe have turned into the sources of permanent instability, for their neighbors.

   

  But in our view the wars deriving from those countries are not as dangerous as the threat of the export of the political systems formed in those countries.

   

  It is especially dangerous for a small state like Armenia, which, being located in the crossroad of serious geopolitical interests is rather motivating for the superpowers, which create virtual states by means of "colored revolutions".

   

  Can you imagine what was going to happen in our country had they managed to realize the "colored revolution" during the previous presidential elections? No doubt in that case our country will also be involved in Sahakashvily's adventurousness with all the negative consequences deriving from it.

   

  By becoming the eyewitnesses of the sufferings and senseless victims of the Georgian people we can come to a conclusion that sensible nations learn on the mistakes of their neighbors and never allow others to make their country a project-state that gradually turns into a shabby tool for geopolitical games.

• ARMEN TSATURYAN

[MosJan]

• Loads are not imported to Armenia by the territory of Georgia; because of the damaged railway bridge located 40 km from Gory to Tbilisy. We should remind you that the before mentioned railway bridge has been damaged because of the blast on August 16.

   

  72 wagons to be imported to Armenia are still accumulated near the damaged bridge. Armenian side is elaborating alternative methods to transfer these loads to Armenia, particularly automobile ways. But these alternative methods are not being used because of the promise of the Georgian side to finish the reconstruction of the bridge within 1-2 days. In case of emergency Armenia is ready to transfer the loads accumulated in Georgia by alternative methods.

[shiner]

A lot of European countries are afraid to stand up to Russia cause that's who provides them with oil.

[MosJan]

Armenian Rail Traffic Via Georgia ‘Set To Resume’ http://www.armenialiberty.org/images/photo/railway4.jpg

By Emil Danielyan

 

Armenia’s rail communication with the outside world, disrupted by the weekend sabotage attack in Georgia, could resume in the coming days through an old bridge bypassing the damaged section of the Georgian railway, officials in Yerevan said on Wednesday.

 

They also said that the Black Sea ports of Batumi and Poti processing the bulk of Armenia’s foreign trade have continued to function even after one of them was again targeted by Russian troops occupying much of Georgian territory.

 

Armenian officials have been scrambling to maintain supplies of basic commodities to their country since Saturday’s explosion on a rail bridge close to the Russian-occupied central town of Gori. The Georgian government has accused the Russians of blowing it up, a charge strongly denied by Moscow.

 

Georgian officials said initially that the bridge will be restored within 10 days. But according to the Armenian Ministry of Transport and Communications, they now believe the ongoing repairs will take about a month.

 

A ministry spokeswoman, Susanna Tonoyan, told RFE/RL that Georgian repairmen, helped by a team of 12 construction specialists from Armenia, have finished preparing a smaller, disused rail bridge for use in the meantime. She said the bridge, built in the early 20th century, needs to undergo testing before trains moving to and from western Georgian can cross it. When asked when rail traffic through that section could start, Tonoyan said, “That depends on the Georgian side.”

 

A spokesman for Armenia’s rail network, which is managed by the Russian state railway, confirmed the information. Vahe Davtian told the Regnum news agency that the 12 Armenian repairmen have already returned to Yerevan. He said several Armenian government and railway officials who accompanied them will remain in Georgia until “that section of the railway begins to be exploited.”

 

The Georgian railway is the main transport link between Armenia and the Batumi and Poti ports processing more than 90 percent of freight shipped to and from the landlocked country. Cargo traffic through the ports was seriously complicated by Russian air strikes on civilian and military targets in Georgia. Russian forces were reported to have again entered Poti on Tuesday to arrest 20 Georgian police officers and to destroy more Georgian warships stationed there.

 

According to Tonoyan, both Georgian ports continued to operate on Wednesday. The Transport Ministry official said a rail-ferry link between Poti and Russia’s Port-Kavkaz, which mainly caters for Armenian cargos, also remains operational despite the military conflict between the two nations. She said Georgian dockers unloaded on Wednesday two ferries that arrived from the Russian port with 32 rail carriages bound for Armenia on board.

 

They are also preparing to unload another, Ukrainian rail-ferry carrying 62 carriages laden with Armenian imports, said Tonoyan. Three other commercial ships carrying a total of about 10,000 metric tons of wheat purchased by Armenian importers are on their way to Batumi and Poti, she added.

 

The official also said the Armenian government and cargo companies have yet to decide how to bring in these freight consignments as well as about 180 rail cars stranded on Georgian railway sections west of Gori.

 

In an effort to forestall fuel shortages, the government sent on Sunday a convoy of 39 heavy trucks to a petrol terminal in Batumi. In Tonoyan’s words, it has rushed no further transport columns to the port since then in hopes that the much less expensive rail communication will resume this week.

 

(Photolur photo)

 

http://www.armenialiberty.org/images/invisible.gif

[DominO123]

Alexandra Szacka obvious and systematic biases in her coverage on CBC/Radio-Canada is really starting to play on my nerves. OK, I understand she is Polish and that she may have an axe against Russians, but she now borders being a journalistic fraud in her reportings. Damn, she appears to be more biased than FOX or CNN. Nick Spicer was much more professional, what were they thinking by replacing him by an obvious anti-Russian biased reporter? Edited August 22, 2008 by DominO

[MosJan]

 

Russia stands up from its knees

 

Long-term consequences of the recent events in the Caucasus are still unclear. The sides involved in the conflict have said everything that they considered necessary to say under the current political situation. The unrecognized republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia have survived another bloody conflict with Georgia. The conflict has proved that it is absolutely impossible for the three nations to live within the borders of one legal state. It means that the two republics will ask Moscow to recognize their independence again.

 

Georgia has had an objective impression of its own political administration and its aptitude to the solution of strategic goals. The Georgian military has proved to be absolutely incapable of waging civilized military actions, whereas the authorities of Georgia showed that they did not care to think about their people.

 

Russia was forced to launch a massive military action in response to Georgia’s aggression. The Russian troops tested their skills on the enemy armed with US, Ukrainian and Israeli weapons.

 

US presidential runoffs did not miss a good opportunity to exercise their views in foreign politics. For the first time in many years, Washington’s hawks and their secretary of state became honest in their statements about Russia.

 

Politics is full of cynicism. Georgia was obviously solving its own problems shelling Tskhinvali with bombs and missiles at night. Thousands of Ossetians were thinking about their future existence.

 

Anti-Russian sentiments were voiced in Washington, Brussels, Kiev, Warsaw, etc. Russia, Europe and the USA had their own reasons to set their claims to each other, of course. However, Georgia and South Ossetia were quickly moved into the background against the issues of the US-Polish missile deal and the future of Russia’s fuel shipments to Europe. Moscow stood up to defend its geopolitical interests, whereas NATO stood up against Russia, and the USA demonstrated its real influence in the world, which in its turn proved to be indifferent to Washington’s views about a small democratic country of Georgia.

 

The Caucasian knot became a classic example of the beginning of a global crisis. The crisis appeared at the time, when Russia decided to pass from words to deeds for the first time in its recent history. The West was obviously surprised and scared.

 

 

 

 

 

 

he institutions, which imitated the maintenance of peace on the globe, appeared to be worthless organizations. The OSCE became a participant of the conflict because the Georgian administration had previously informed the organization of the imminent attack on South Ossetia. NATO showed that it was unwilling to find itself in a tough opposition against Russia. As for the United Nations, there were no illusions regarding the efficiency of this organization before. Its headquarters can only be good for televising international discussions, but they can not be a platform where consolidated and efficient decisions are made.

 

 

 

 

 

The crisis in South Ossetia has split the Western society. Such a large variety of opinions and views in European and American media could last be seen on the threshold of USA’s incursion in Iraq.

 

It is an open secret that the world has a rather mean opinion of Russia. However, many Western journalists urge their leaders to finally stop annoying the Russian bear, especially when it comes to Russia’s influence in its historic regions.

 

The Western media have always been quite precautious in their attitude to Russia. Their current approach carries one simple message. The West should have tamed Russia a decade ago, but now it just has to deal with it.

 

Russia has exercised a strong determination to rise from its knees, although it has not stood out yet. Its actions in South Ossetia and Georgia have tested Russia’s military, diplomatic and political possibilities. It seems that Moscow has been winning the fierce fight in foreign policy, although it does not intend to win the fight at all costs. Russia depends on the West just as like the West depends on Russia.

 

Russia must do its best not to step into the euphoria of the rising superpower. It is worthy of note that even skeptics acknowledged the new quality of Russia’s policies as a result of Moscow’s political restraint in everything about the recent military activity in the Caucasus.

 

If Moscow maintains the new status, then the conflict in South Ossetia will become a springboard for serious geopolitical changes in the world. Splitting NATO, Turkey’s opposition to the USA, the nuclear problem of Iran - these are only a few issues of the developing crisis.

 

Utro

 

 

[MosJan]

News Send to friend | Print version http://www.russiatoday.com/media/news/8/48aeed79ab808.jpgAFP Photo / Marco Longari August 22, 2008, 20:04

Russian troops withdrawal from Georgia complete

Russian troops have pulled out of Georgia, according to Ria Novosti News Agency. Now only Russian peacekeepers will stay in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, where more checkpoints will be set up. Peacekeepers will remain there, in line with international agreements. "Only Russian peacekeeping units will remain at specially equipped security check-posts within the limits of security zones established in line with coordinated security principles, which Russia strictly abides by," said Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov.

 

He added that the withdrawal complied with earlier orders given by President Dmitry Medvedev.

 

Following last week’s ceasefire agreement, troops attached to the peacekeeping contingent have been stationed inside Georgia proper to provide added security.

 

During hostilities, Georgian authorities fled towns in the conflict zone, abandoning civilians.

 

Russian troops have overseen deliveries of humanitarian aid and maintained order before handing the towns over to the control of Georgian police.

 

Russia's navy sails home

 

The first Russian warship to leave the coast of Abkhasia has returned to its base in the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol.

 

According to reports, the 'Corvette Mirazh' sunk a Georgian missile boat while taking part in the peace enforcement operation near Georgia's breakaway republic of Abkhasia.

 

Other vessels, including the Russian Black Sea Fleet's flagship, are due to return later.

 

Ukrainian nationalists planned a large scale protest against the Fleet, but only a few dozen demonstrators turned up.

 

Russia's air force has also returned from the area.

 

"The air grouping which operated in the interests of Russian peacekeepers in South Abkhazia has fulfilled the tasks set," said Russia's Deputy General Staff Anaytoly Nogovitsyn on Friday.

 

"Twenty-five attack aircraft and three fighter jets yesterday returned to their bases," Nogovitsyn said.

[MosJan]

News Send to friend | Print version http://www.russiatoday.com/media/news/3/48ae516dae467.jpgTskhinvali inhabitants get food aid (AFP Photo / Dmitry Kostyukov) August 22, 2008, 16:34

Humanitarian catastrophe in South Ossetia is over - Russia

The situation in South Ossetia can no longer be described as a humanitarian catastrophe, according to Russia's Emergencies Minister Sergey Shoigu. Speaking at a meeting with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Vladikavkaz, Antonio Guterres, he said the amount of humanitarian aid delivered to South Ossetia daily has grown from 140 to 400 tonnes. Antonio Guterres is on a two-day visit in Russia's North Ossetia where thousands of refugees still remain.

 

He said he welcomes the news that many of those who fled are already going home, as the right to return is important for refugees’ protection.

 

More than 30,000 people left their homes in South Ossetia, almost half of the pre-war population of the region, and 18,000 have already returned home.

 

Sergey Shoigu said that currently very few people continue to live in tents as specialists are working to construct temporary housing for the local population. The provision of food and medical aid is fully organised in Tskhinvali, he said.

 

Authorities are also working to restore electricity and the supplies of gas in the city and the central hospital is already receiving electricity.

 

Local authorities say the main remaining task is to provide decent living conditions for locals, to prepare the city for winter and to restore schools for the upcoming school year.

 

"By September 1 the schools will definitely be open. The first school has already been fixed and is ready. Two more schools will be ready on time as well," said Major General Mikhail Tashlyk, head of comstruction.

 

Meanwhile, the South Ossetian Parliament has passed a resolution asking Russia to recognise its independence from Georgia.

 

A local’s story

 

Aleksandr Bekoyev has been living in Tskhinvali most of his life. He is an Ossetian and carries a Russian passport. Georgian attacks destroyed several houses on his street, leaving many more, including his home, seriously damaged.

 

"They bombed our homes. Luckily I had some buckets of water so I put out the fire. The neighbours were gone and their houses burnt down. They bombed several times. See, I have no ceiling now! Saakashvili is scary. He is worse than Hitler! They say he is really insane. I cannot understand why the Georgian people obey him," Bekoyev said.

 

Harmony in ruined capital

 

Meanwhile, the principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra and artistic director of St.Peretsburg's Mariinsky Theatre, Valery Gergiev, has led a concert in Tskhinvali.

 

For more on this, please follow the link.

[MosJan]

News Send to friend | Print version http://www.russiatoday.com/media/news/5/48ae3c9c0e6b6.jpg August 22, 2008, 8:10

Is Georgia winning the media battle?

Several western newspapers claim that even though the Georgian offensive against South Ossetia failed, it is still managing to win the media war. In this sort of modern warfare, Georgia has to rely heavily on foreign assistance. RT met a Brit who's working for the Georgian government as a media adviser. Patrick Worms is preparing for his next move against the Russians, but on his battlefield there's no blood or gunfire.

 

His soldiers work with the aroma of coffee and soft gentle music, but like a real general, he consults his map and his deputies.

 

Worms’ headquarters is in one of the finest hotels in Tbilisi.

 

From its lobby Worms plans his strategy - and the enemy is easy to identify - it's the Russians again.

 

"The first Gulf War was managed with these things - primitive mobile phones. The Afghan and Iraq wars were managed with blackberries. This war is managed using Skype. Chat systems generally, whether it's MSN chat, or Yahoo chat, or Google chat or Skype chat. These are the most effective tools for managing information," media advisor Patrick Worms says.

 

Patrick’s troops are stationed throughout the world in the editing rooms of newspapers and television stations. His logistical support comes from the public relations agencies he's hired in Italy, Germany and the United States, but the main control is in Brussels.

 

Ask the average viewer in Europe and no-one knows who started the war, but they all agree the Russians are the bad guys. It's a battle Worms’ squad says it’s winning.

 

Worms will help you to decide who you're going to love more this week - Putin/Medvedev or Saakashvilli.

 

"We receive a lot of information that we're not giving out. And that is information that we either know to be factually correct, but that no independent source - either a journalist or an observer - can independently check out, or information which is on the basis of rumours," says Worms.

 

The problem is that Worms’ truth comes only from one side.

 

Kim Sengupta from the Independent newspaper says Georgia’s PR machine has been effective.

 

"Overall it probably has been successful. I think their version of events is getting a wider hearing, if you like, than the Russian or South Ossetian side, certainly for the journalists based over here. And that is also the case with TV journalists, radio journalists, the ones who are doing 24-hour news," Sengupta said.

 

Worms is a volunteer who says he's helping a friend in need to deal with the complex demands and workings of today's media and his input is as important as that of any soldier fighting on the ground.

 

"I’m helping them tell a story. I'm also helping them understand what the media needs in order to tell the story that needs to be told. And in that sense I suppose you could say that I am part of the machine that is fighting the Russian occupation," Worms said.

 

In media wars, nobody is taken prisoner. You either win or lose.

[MosJan]

News Send to friend | Print version http://www.russiatoday.com/media/news/2/48ad657661370.jpg August 21, 2008, 23:55

Abkhazia rallies for independence

The Abkhazian Parliament has approved an official appeal to Russia to recognise its independence. Political parties and social organisations in the breakaway republic are holding a massive rally in the capital Sukhumi to support the government. It is a regional tradition to hold mass rallies to decide issues of national importance. There are an estimated 47,000 Abkhazians in attendance, and they've been joined by citizens of neighbouring Russian republics and Georgia's other unrecognised republic of South Ossetia.

 

South Ossetia is also planning to hold a rally. According to the breakaway republic's President, some refugees who fled the region will return to take part in the event.

 

On Wednesday the Abkhazian President Sergey Bagapsh appealed to Russia and to the governments of other countries to recognise Abkhazia's independence. Bagapsh, speaking during a parliament session, said that now, a week after Georgia's aggression against South Ossetia, is the best time for both Abkhazia's and South Ossetia's recognition.

 

All the deputies who took part at the session agreed that the Abkhazians as well as South Ossetians can not live together with the Georgians in one state.

 

In 1999 there was a referendum held in the breakaway republic on its future status, and 97.7 per cent of the voters supported the idea of independence.

 

Earlier the Russian Presdient Dmitry Medvedev offered his support to the two breakaway republics.

 

"We will support any decision on the status of Abkhazia and South Ossetia made by their people in accordance with the UN Charter and other international conventions. We will not only support such decisions, we will guarantee their enforcement,” Medvedev said last week.

 

Both South Ossetia and Abkhazia fought wars of independence with Georgia in the early 90s - and won de facto sovereignty. But the roots of the conflict between Georgia and its breakaway regions can be traced back much further.

[MosJan]

 

Georgia set for military action - Russian General Staff

15:23 | 22/ 08/ 2008 http://img.rian.ru/i/b_print.gif MOSCOW, August 22 (RIA Novosti) - Georgia is preparing for military action in its breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, a senior Russian military official warned Friday.

 

"We have registered an increase in [Georgia's] reconnaissance activities and preparations for armed actions in the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict zone," Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of the Russian military's general staff, told a news conference.

 

Georgia has also embarked on a program to increase its weapons and military capability in the past few years, Nogovitsyn added.

 

According to information at his disposal, since 2005, Georgian tank numbers increased from 98 to 183, armored vehicles from 83 to 134, artillery weapons from 96 to 238 combat helicopters from three to nine and warplanes from seven to nine.

 

He said Russia reserved the right to build up its peacekeeping contingent in Georgia's conflict zone.

 

"The number of peacekeepers in Abkhazia will be 2,142 people, and the number of peacekeepers in South Ossetia will be fixed at a later date," Nogovitsyn said.

 

The Defense Ministry official also said Russia had set up 18 peacekeeping posts in South Ossetia and would build as many in Abkhazia "in order to avert looters and the transportation of arms and ammunition."

 

Meanwhile, Russia has been continuing the withdrawal of troops from Georgia.

 

Three Russian fighters and 25 strike aircraft involved in the recent military operation in Georgia have returned to their permanent bases, Nogovitsyn said.

 

 

[MosJan]

 

Ukraine opposition to send Georgian leader neckties to chew on

17:38 | 22/ 08/ 2008 http://img.rian.ru/i/b_print.gif KIEV, August 22 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine's opposition party has pledged to send 365 neckties to Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who was recently caught on camera nervously chewing his garment while discussing the Georgian-Russian conflict.

 

Saakashvili has caused an internet sensation with his

, captured during a phone conversation with a top Western official and aired by the BBC, and also over footage of him running in apparent terror after speaking to reporters, believing he was about to be attacked by Russian planes.

 

Party of Regions lawmaker Boris Kolesnikov told a crowd of supporters in the east Ukrainian city of Donetsk: "We have already bought Saakashvili spiked running shoes, similar to those worn by the Jamaican sprinter who won the Olympic 100 meters. We will also buy him 365 neckties, so that he will have enough to chew on every day of the year."

 

After the lawmaker's speech on the main square in Donetsk, the center of eastern Ukraine's coal mining industry, five heavy goods vehicles left the square carrying aid for children in Georgia's breakaway province of South Ossetia, devastated by Georgia's August 8 military offensive.

 

Although Ukraine's pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko has been vocal in his support for Saakashvili and his condemnation of Russia's large-scale retaliation to Georgia's offensive, his stance has not been backed my Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, once his closest ally.

 

Earlier this week the president's office accused the premier of betraying national interests by refusing to speak out against Russia.

 

Since the start of Russia's military peace enforcement operation, which has been resoundingly condemned by NATO, supporters of Georgia have held low-key rallies against the "Russian occupation" of Georgia near Kiev's Independence Square. However, the protests have inspired little local support.

 

 

[MosJan]

 

Activists in Ukraine's Crimea ask Russia to reclaim territory

16:24 | 22/ 08/ 2008 http://img.rian.ru/i/b_print.gif SIMFEROPOL, August 22 (RIA Novosti) - About 50 protesters gathered in the Crimean capital of Simferopol on Friday, urging Russia to pull out of a friendship agreement with Ukraine and to make a territorial claim on the peninsula.

 

The organizer of the rally, Valery Podyachy, told the gathering: "We ask Russia to tear up the agreement [on Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership with Ukraine] and to file territorial claims to Ukraine."

 

The Crimea, which has a predominantly Russian-speaking population, has been the focus of frequent disputes between the Russian and Ukrainian leaderships, over the Russian Black Sea Fleet's lease of the soviet-era Sevastopol naval base.

 

During the recent conflict between Russia and Georgia that followed Tbilisi's August 8 offensive in breakaway South Ossetia, Ukraine threatened to bar entry to Russian Black Sea fleet vessels that had been deployed near Georgia's coast.

 

Ukraine's Defense Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov signed instructions on Thursday to implement an earlier presidential decree complicating the rules of deployment for the Black Sea Fleet.

 

Podyachy, who heads the Sevastopol-Crimea-Russia Popular Front, said: "While Russia sent aid to flood-hit Ukrainian regions, Ukraine failed to help Russia to force Georgia to peace, and took an openly hostile stance."

 

Ukraine supplied weaponry to President Mikheil Saakashvili's regime that was used to kill Russian peacekeepers, he said.

 

"Ukraine has proved by its policies that it is not a friend but an enemy to Russia," Podyachy said.

 

Former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, who grew up in Ukraine, made the Crimean Peninsula - a territory of 26,100 sq km - part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1954. The peninsula was until then a part of the Russian Soviet Socialist Republic.

 

Since the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union, the Crimea has unsuccessfully sought independence from Ukraine. A 1994 referendum in the Crimea supported demands for a broader autonomy and closer links with Russia.

 

Relations between Russia and Ukraine have deteriorated recently following Kiev's NATO membership bid and its demand that Russia's Black Sea Fleet withdraw from its naval base in Sevastopol.

 

 

[MosJan]

TER-PETROSIAN BLAMES GEORGIA FOR CONFLICT WITH RUSSIA

• http://www.armtown.com/img/photo/rfe_en_200808212.jpgOpposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian has issued a blanket endorsement of Russia’s military campaign in neighboring Georgia, saying that it saved the population of South Ossetia from “genocide.” He also said that Armenia’s government is right to maintain a “positive neutrality” in the conflict which is threatening to trigger a new “cold war” between Russia and the West. “Nobody can dispute the fact that Georgia provoked the war in order to eliminate the [breakaway] republic of South Ossetia,” Ter-Petrosian said in an interview with the A1Plus.am news service posted late Wednesday. “Nobody can also dispute the fact that with its resolute intervention Russia saved the South Ossetian people from genocide. Had the Russian assistance arrived even six hours late, South Ossetia would not have existed today.” Ter-Petrosian claimed at the same time that the Georgian government planned to “deport,” rather than “annihilate,” the region’s mostly Ossetian population. “[Georgian President Mikheil] Saakashvili could not fail to realize that an annihilation would not be forgiven by the international community, whereas a deportation could be tolerated in one way or another,” he said. Thousands of Russian troops backed up by many tanks and armored vehicles dashed into South Ossetia through a mountain tunnel on August 8 just hours after the Georgian army attempted to restore Tbilisi’s control over the region. They went on to occupy large swathes of territory in Georgia proper, forcing tens of thousands of Georgians to flee their homes and effectively paralyzing the country’s economic life. Russia’s counteroffensive has been condemned as disproportionate by the United States and the European Union. Ter-Petrosian, who served as Armenia’s first president from 1991-1998, dismissed the Western criticism. “I don’t know of a single case in world history where a big power’s riposte to a challenge against it was proportionate,” he said. Echoing Moscow’s highly negative attitude towards the pro-Western government in Tbilisi, Ter-Petrosian went on to blame Saakashvili for the “national catastrophe” facing Georgia and predicted that Georgians could soon revolt against their president. “I have no doubts that none other the Georgian people will hold their government answerable for all this in the near future,” he said. The remarks are extraordinary for a man who was known for his pro-Western leanings throughout his presidency and whose political allies repeatedly accused his successor Robert Kocharian of turning Armenia into a Russian “outpost” in the South Caucasus. Ter-Petrosian also won acclaim in the West for his conciliatory views on the Nagorno-Artsax conflict and Armenia’s relations with Turkey. The 63-year-old ex-president has consistently asserted his pro-Russian credentials ever since staging a dramatic political comeback a year ago. He has rejected any parallels between his bid to return to power on the back of a popular movement and the Western-backed “color revolutions” in Georgia and other ex-Soviet states that were opposed by Russia. Ter-Petrosian reportedly met Russian leaders during a confidential visit to Moscow in the run-up to Armenia’s February 19 presidential election. Ter-Petrosian lambasted Western powers and commended the Kremlin during his massive post-election demonstrations in Yerevan. He reiterated the harsh criticism at a July news conference, alleging that “the West is not interested in having a legitimate and strong government in Armenia.” While unequivocally backing the Russian military intervention in Georgia, the opposition leader made clear that he essentially agrees with the Armenian government’s neutral stance in the Georgian-Russian war. “In this sense, there is no reason to be unhappy with the position of Armenia’s authorities,” he said. Still, Ter-Petrosian added that the administration of President Serzh Sarkisian should “draw lessons” from a conflict that has seriously complicated Armenia’s transport communication with the outside world. The most important lesson, according to him, is that Armenia must not be heavily dependent on Georgia in carrying out its foreign trade. “That must force [the authorities] to take positive steps to resolve the Nagorno-Artsax conflict and settle Turkish-Armenian relations,” he said. (Photolur photo)
• By Emil Danielyan

[MosJan]

PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA COMMENTING ON RECENT EVENTS IN SOUTH OSSETIA

• President of Armenia Serge Sakisian on his meeting with the Defense Ministers and the Secretary General of CSTO stated that issues of national self-determination must be solved on the basis of people's free will,

   

  "Today, we are strongly concerned over the crisis in South Ossetia. This is a humanitarian disaster, which needs to be overcome quickly. In these circumstances, we welcome the joint initiative of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and French President Nicolas Sarkozy - the six-step plan of how overcoming the present situation and to attain long-term peaceful resolution," the Armenian President said.

   

  Mr. Sarkisian added that the tragic events in South Ossetia had shown that such conflicts, if not solved according to the free will of the nations, result in ethnic separatism and violation of the international humanitarian law.

   

  "We have repeatedly pointed to the dangers of the unprecedented efforts of some countries of the region to build up their military capacities in an attempt to solve the existing conflicts," Sargsian said.

   

  Armenia is ready to provide its territory as a humanitarian corridor. "We are also ready to provide humanitarian assistance," Serge Sarkisian stated said.

[MosJan]

SERZH SARGSYAN: “ARMENIA READY TO ACT AS HUMANITARIAN CORRIDOR”

• Republic of Armenia is deeply concerned with the crisis in Southern Ossetia which has resulted in thousands victims. A humanitarian disaster and every challenge should be taken to overcome it. We greet the common initiative of the Russian President D. Medvedev and President of France and European Union N. Sarkozy which are aimed to overcome the current situation and to find solutions to the conflict, said Serzh Sargsyan in a meeting with the Defense Ministers of CSTO. The President said that the dramatic events in Southern Ossetia proved that any attempts of independence in Southern Caucasus are to have military solutions. We have been pointing for several times that some countries in the region express danger of increased military power and attempts to solve the conflicts through military activities. I would like to mention that Armenia is ready to act as a humanitarian corridor and to provide humanitarian support to the wounded, said S. Sargsyan.

[MosJan]

RUSSIA SUSPENDS MILITARY COOPERATION WITH NATO

• NATO has received a note from Moscow saying that Russia would break off military cooperation with the west's military alliance. The British Guardian reports that the move is the latest fallout from Russia's short, sharp war with Georgia.It appeared to be a tit-for-tat response to NATO's announcement this week that there could be no business as usual as long as Russian forces remained in Georgia. Foreign ministers meeting in Brussels had decided that the NATO-Russia council would no longer meet for the time being. The council, set up in 2002, paved the way for cooperation on several projects. They included the participation of Russian warships in NATO Mediterranean counter-terrorism patrols, sharing expertise to combat heroin trafficking from Afghanistan and developing battlefield anti-missile technology. An alliance spokeswoman, Carmen Romero, today said NATO had received notification through military channels that Russia's defense ministry had taken a decision to halt international military cooperation events between Russia and NATO countries until further instructions. The Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, suggested that NATO needed Moscow more than Moscow needed NATO. He said Russian cooperation with NATO efforts against militants in Afghanistan could be jeopardized, adding: Russia's help is critical for NATO. Lavrov added that after this week's emergency meeting in Brussels, during which NATO adopted a sharp but not very concrete document on how to deal with Russia, leading alliance members came to us and whispered in our ears, hoping that we do not halt cooperation with NATO on Afghanistan.Everything depends on NATO - if their priorities go to the unconditional support of the bankrupt Saakashvili regime to the detriment of partnership with NATO, it's not our fault. The US played down the significance of the Russian decision, saying NATO had already effectively frozen cooperation in protest at Russia's continued military presence in much of Georgia. NATO warships entered the Black Sea for what the alliance said were long-planned exercises and routine visits to ports in Romania and Bulgaria. NATO said the exercises were not linked to the conflict in Georgia, which lies on the eastern shore of the Black Sea, around 550 miles from the Romanian coast. The three warships - from Spain, Germany and Poland - sailed into the Black Sea today and are due to joined by a US frigate, the USS Taylor, later this week. The move could irritate Russia, which has deployed ships from its Black Sea fleet to the Georgian coast.

[Z'areh]

Levon Ter Petrossian

 

The clown that he is was never in question.

An intellectual? perhaps as a past time, let's remember both Vano Siradeghian and Rodovan Karadic were or are poets.

A demagogue? YOU BET!!!!

 

Now that he has realized that the West is but nothing in this region, he has turned into an anti-Georgian, pro-Russian, even praising Sargsian for his stance on this issue.

 

What a clown indeed, and when the chips were down....he proved it.

Poor all those who followed him thinking he is a saviour.

 

 

 

 

/

[MosJan]

Zareh jan it's just a show take it at the face value

[ED]

Levon Ter Petrossian

 

The clown that he is was never in question.

An intellectual? perhaps as a past time, let's remember both Vano Siradeghian and Rodovan Karadic were or are poets.

A demagogue? YOU BET!!!!

 

Now that he has realized that the West is but nothing in this region, he has turned into an anti-Georgian, pro-Russian, even praising Sargsian for his stance on this issue.

 

What a clown indeed, and when the chips were down....he proved it.

Poor all those who followed him thinking he is a saviour.

 

 

 

 

/

 

 

 

yes indeed, he is to clever to say otherwise.

amen martu kenats xmox, amen mereli vra latsox yerp jamanakn u pahne, SHAHNE pahanjum!

 

[MosJan]

 

Russia may hit USA very hard below the belt

 

 

 

US leading experts analyzed punishing opportunities of both Russia and the West after the recent armed conflict in Georgia. Specialists came to conclusion that the list of potential Western sanctions pales in comparison with what Moscow could do in response. However, the US administration hopes that Russia will not resort to radical measures not to harm its own financial and security interests

 

The US administration has issued yet another warning to Moscow recently claiming that Russia’s actions in Georgia would question the future of its WTO bid, as well as Russia’s position in the Group of Eight.

 

The list of Washington’s threats also includes the blocking of Russia’s membership in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the boycott of Russia’s hosting of Winter Olympics in 2014 and a freeze of US-Russian strategic dialogue.

 

US experts warn that the list of Moscow’s potential sanctions is a lot longer. Angela Stent, the director of the Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies, Georgetown University, said that Moscow may respond at the UN Security Council, where it can put obstacles on the way of US intentions to punish Iran for its nuclear ambition. All anti-terrorist programs, the struggle against drug mafia, Syria, Venezuela and Hamas can be added on the list too. There are many questions, on which Russians may stop their cooperation with the USA, with the cooperation in the energy industry on top of that list, the expert believes.

 

The International Herald Tribune wrote with reference to US outstanding analysts that Washington needed a lot more from Moscow than vice versa. The US needs to ensure the security of Soviet nuclear weapons, to obtain Russia’s help in the endeavor to make Iran and North Korea shut down their nuclear programs.

 

The sale of Russia’s arms is another problem. The governments of Western countries and Israel are concerned about reports saying that Russia started the shipments of first components of its S-300 missile system to Iran. The latter may subsequently use the powerful systems to down US and Israeli aircraft.

 

Russia may complicate USA’s and NATO’s supply of the coalition in Afghanistan In April, Moscow gave France and Germany a right to transit non-combatant cargoes via Russia. Russia’s ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, said that the West should not bite the hand that feeds 50,000 servicemen in Afghanistan. Moscow can offer show pressure of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, which the USA would like to use for their operations in Afghanistan.

 

 

 

In addition, Russia is capable of blocking any sanctions at the UN Security Council. Moscow can also pull out from a number of disarmament treaties, including the one signed with the USA about the liquidation of short and smaller range missiles after the expiry of START-1 Treaty in 2009.

 

Flynt Leverett, a former National Security Council senior director and CIA senior analyst, said that Moscow was becoming a very important buyer of US Treasury bonds and US government agency issues. The specialist believes that those officials, who urge Washington to put forward various ultimatums to Russia, would hardly prefer Moscow disposing of its dollar assets. Leverett wrote for The National Interest that Moscow was sounding out opportunities of selling Russian crude for roubles, which would obviously affect long-term dollar positions.

 

Washington hopes that Russia will not go too far. For example, Iran’s possession of nuclear weapons and the abrupt devaluation of Russian dollar assets would be highly undesirable for Russia as well. However, Moscow’s further actions will depend on new sanctions of the West that will have to think twice before reacting to possible recognition of South Ossetia’s and Abkhazia’s independence by Russia.

 

 

 

 

 

[MosJan]

 

Russia stands up from its knees

 

Long-term consequences of the recent events in the Caucasus are still unclear. The sides involved in the conflict have said everything that they considered necessary to say under the current political situation. The unrecognized republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia have survived another bloody conflict with Georgia. The conflict has proved that it is absolutely impossible for the three nations to live within the borders of one legal state. It means that the two republics will ask Moscow to recognize their independence again.

 

Georgia has had an objective impression of its own political administration and its aptitude to the solution of strategic goals. The Georgian military has proved to be absolutely incapable of waging civilized military actions, whereas the authorities of Georgia showed that they did not care to think about their people.

 

Russia was forced to launch a massive military action in response to Georgia’s aggression. The Russian troops tested their skills on the enemy armed with US, Ukrainian and Israeli weapons.

 

US presidential runoffs did not miss a good opportunity to exercise their views in foreign politics. For the first time in many years, Washington’s hawks and their secretary of state became honest in their statements about Russia.

 

Politics is full of cynicism. Georgia was obviously solving its own problems shelling Tskhinvali with bombs and missiles at night. Thousands of Ossetians were thinking about their future existence.

 

Anti-Russian sentiments were voiced in Washington, Brussels, Kiev, Warsaw, etc. Russia, Europe and the USA had their own reasons to set their claims to each other, of course. However, Georgia and South Ossetia were quickly moved into the background against the issues of the US-Polish missile deal and the future of Russia’s fuel shipments to Europe. Moscow stood up to defend its geopolitical interests, whereas NATO stood up against Russia, and the USA demonstrated its real influence in the world, which in its turn proved to be indifferent to Washington’s views about a small democratic country of Georgia.

 

The Caucasian knot became a classic example of the beginning of a global crisis. The crisis appeared at the time, when Russia decided to pass from words to deeds for the first time in its recent history. The West was obviously surprised and scared.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The institutions, which imitated the maintenance of peace on the globe, appeared to be worthless organizations. The OSCE became a participant of the conflict because the Georgian administration had previously informed the organization of the imminent attack on South Ossetia. NATO showed that it was unwilling to find itself in a tough opposition against Russia. As for the United Nations, there were no illusions regarding the efficiency of this organization before. Its headquarters can only be good for televising international discussions, but they can not be a platform where consolidated and efficient decisions are made

 

The crisis in South Ossetia has split the Western society. Such a large variety of opinions and views in European and American media could last be seen on the threshold of USA’s incursion in Iraq.

 

It is an open secret that the world has a rather mean opinion of Russia. However, many Western journalists urge their leaders to finally stop annoying the Russian bear, especially when it comes to Russia’s influence in its historic regions.

 

The Western media have always been quite precautious in their attitude to Russia. Their current approach carries one simple message. The West should have tamed Russia a decade ago, but now it just has to deal with it.

 

Russia has exercised a strong determination to rise from its knees, although it has not stood out yet. Its actions in South Ossetia and Georgia have tested Russia’s military, diplomatic and political possibilities. It seems that Moscow has been winning the fierce fight in foreign policy, although it does not intend to win the fight at all costs. Russia depends on the West just as like the West depends on Russia.

 

Russia must do its best not to step into the euphoria of the rising superpower. It is worthy of note that even skeptics acknowledged the new quality of Russia’s policies as a result of Moscow’s political restraint in everything about the recent military activity in the Caucasus.

 

If Moscow maintains the new status, then the conflict in South Ossetia will become a springboard for serious geopolitical changes in the world. Splitting NATO, Turkey’s opposition to the USA, the nuclear problem of Iran - these are only a few issues of the developing crisis.