Fireworks over Georgia

[MosJan]

The future of Georgia and Saakashvili falls into Russia’s hands

 

Part #1

 

The troops of Abkhazia, another unrecognized republic and an enclave in Georgia, have launched an operation to oust the Georgian military men from the upper part of the Kodori Gorge, Interfax reports with reference to the Abkhazian Defense Ministry.

 

The point units of the Abkhazian army – about 2,000 people - entered the upper part of the Kodori Gorge at about 8 a.m. Tuesday. Georgia has about 2,500 men in the region. All civilians have been evacuated through the humanitarian corridor, Abkhazian defense officials said.

 

Abkhazian fighter jets bombed Georgia’s battle positions in Ajar. Abkhazia’s defense officials stated that Georgia’s groups in the region had been encircled and defeated as a result of the landing operation.

 

Georgia launched missiles from man-portable systems targeting Abkhazian combat helicopters Tuesday morning.

 

Officials from the Defense Ministry of Abkhazia stated that the Georgian troops had an opportunity to leave the upper part of the Kodori Gorge through the humanitarian corridor.

 

Abkhazian President Sergei Bagapsh announced partial mobilization in the republic on August 10.

 

Sergei Shamba, the Foreign Minister of Abkhazia, stated that Russian troops were not participating in the operations in the Kodori Gorge. Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vitali Churkin confirmed the information.

 

“Our troops in Abkhazia remain within the security zone. Our defense officials strongly deny all panic reports which claim that the Russian troops had supposedly occupied the town of Gori and advanced towards Tbilisi [Georgia’s capital],” Churkin said as the session of the UN Security Council ended Tuesday.

 

Abkhazia opened the second front on August 9 and launched an operation to oust the Georgian troops from the Kodori Gorge.

 

Georgia’s parliament will hold a special meeting Tuesday, at 1:00 p.m. local time upon Mikhail Saakashvili’s decision.

 

“The special session of the parliament will be held to discuss measures to guarantee law and order and to provide people with everything that they need,” ITAR-TASS quoted Saakashvili as saying.

 

There were no incidents reported last night in Georgia. Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, lives and functions as usual. The public transport, including the metro, the airport, stores and state institutions, work according to their usual schedule.

 

The prime minister of Georgia urged the nation to keep calm.

 

“The president holds intensive telephone conversations with leaders of different countries. We are expecting adequate help, although we are disappointed that the situation has been brought to its current condition,” the prime minister said.

[MosJan]

 

 

Part #2

 

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is arriving in Moscow Tuesday to conduct negotiations with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Sarkozy’s prime goal is to make the authorities of Russia and Georgia sit down for talks.

 

Russian news agencies say that the Kremlin may put forward tough conditions for peace, which may include a requirement for Mikhail Saakashvili to step down from the position of Georgia’s president.

 

Sarkozy has virtually become the first Western leader who publicly estimated Moscow’s requirement to Tbilisi to undertake a commitment not to use force.

 

Russia has repeatedly asked Georgia to sign a legally binding document not to use force for the solution of Georgia’s conflict with the unrecognized republic of South Ossetia. However, Georgia’s Saakashvili claimed that he did not see a need in signing the document. If Georgia had signed the document with Russia, it would have entailed the nation’s direct responsibility for the military actions against S. Ossetia.

 

France , Germany and Finland, the chairing state at the OSCE, will most likely become Russia’s international mediators. Moscow is not likely to agree for such services from the USA since the US administration openly supports Tbilisi at the UN Security Council.

 

Russia needs to conduct negotiations with European states to start the political regulation of the conflict. Sarkozy’s visit to Moscow could be a good opportunity to start the process.

 

In addition to Saakashvili’s resignation, Moscow will strive for his persecution at the special International Tribunal for South Ossetia.

 

The Kremlin considers the question of Saakashvili’s exemption from power to be a principal issue in the solution of the conflict. Nicolas Sarkozy will thus have to either personally convince the Georgian president of the need to step down or explain at the Kremlin that Russia’s conditions would be unfeasible.

 

http://english.pravda.ru/hotspots/conflicts/106068-1/

[MosJan]

Georgia seeks ‘limited war’ to draw international attention

 

Part #1

 

Pravda.Ru has interviewed several experts on the problem of the conflict between Georgia and South Ossetia. The following are the most interesting comments

 

Emmanuel Karagiannis

Lecturer at University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece (specializing in the Caucasus region)

 

“Georgia’s military campaign in South Ossetia aims primarily at solidifying domestic support for the Saakashvili government, while drawing international attention to the country’s ethnic conflicts. Tbilisi knows very well that the violent reoccupation of the breakaway region is not a realistic option, bearing in mind that the majority of the population holds Russian passports.

 

Therefore, the Georgian government is seeking a limited war that could possibly lead to new negotiations between Tbilisi and Tskhinvali. Moreover, Tbilisi was well aware that Moscow would face a difficult dilemma: if it did not respond to Georgian attacks, the Kremlin would risk its credibility; on the other hand, if the Russian army launched a counterattack (as it finally did), it would be subject to accusations of invading a small pro-Western country.

 

In any case, Georgian belligerent actions will seriously undermine prospects for peace in the Transcaucasus. Moscow should keep in mind that this is a limited war; any extension of the war into Georgia proper would only invoke sympathy for Georgia’s puerile government from the die-hard Cold Warriors in the West.”

 

Ariel Cohen

Ph.D, is Senior Research Fellow in Russian and Eurasian Studies and International Energy Security at the Heritage Foundation, and the author of Russian Imperialism: Development and Crisis (1998); Eurasia in Balance (2006); and Kazakhstan: the Road to Independence (2008, forthcoming).

 

"Russian-Georgian War is a Challenge for the U.S. and the World.

 

As the Olympic Games open, it is tragic and ominous that the conflict between Georgia and Russia has erupted. As hostilities in the Georgian break-away enclave of South Ossetia escalated Thursday and Friday, Georgia attacked the Russian-backed separatists with artillery. The capital of Tskhinvali suffered severe damage and Georgian troops moved into South Ossetia.

 

Russian peacekeepers there responded with force; Cossacks from the neighboring Russian territories moved in to combat the Georgians, and now Russian armor and artillery have invaded Georgian territory, and the Russian Air Force is attacking Georgian military bases.

 

Russia has long prepared its aggression against pro-Western President Mikheil Saakashvili, in an attempt to undermine his rule and prevent Georgia from joining NATO.

[MosJan]

part #2

 

Russia also has supported separatists in Abkhazia, which is also a part of Georgian territory. Moscow has granted the majority of Abkhazs and South Ossetians Russian citizenship, effectively enacting a creeping annexation of these territories. This is a slippery slope which is leading to redrawing of the former Soviet border.

 

Former president Vladimir Putin spoke last spring about Russia “dismembering” Ukraine, another NATO candidate, and detaching the Crimea, a peninsula which was transferred from Russia to Ukraine when both were integral parts of the Soviet Union.

 

The United States and its European allies need to take all available diplomatic measures to stop Russian aggression. Senator John McCain was right in calling for an emergency UN Security Council meeting to discuss the crisis.

 

The US and its allies need to demand that Russia withdraw all its troops from the territory of Georgia and recognize its territorial integrity.

 

Talks need to start in a neutral forum, such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to finally settle the South Ossetian and Abkhazian problems. This can be done by granting these territories full autonomy within the Georgian state, as Tbilisi has repeatedly suggested.

 

Beyond this, the United States and its allies and other countries need to send a strong signal to Moscow that redrawing the borders of the former Soviet Union is a danger to world peace; cannot be done without violation of international law; and is likely to result in death and destruction – a price that neither the Russian people nor others should pay.”

 

S. Frederick Starr

 

Chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program. Research Professor at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University.

 

“The core issue here is not between South Ossetia and Georgia, although serious problems exist there, but between Tbilisi and Moscow. Both sides doubtless have made mistakes and acted intemperately. But Russia, because of its size and role in the world, has special obligations to become part of the solution and not part of the problem.

 

It must understand that its actions in this case, as well as in Abkhazia, will inevitably call to mind such unfortunate events in the past as the seizure of Karelia from Finland. It is hard to imagine Russia sitting passively if another country attempted to subvert ITS territorial integrity as it is seeking to do with Georgia’s.”

 

Prepared by Alexander Timoshik

Pravda.Ru

 

 

[MosJan]

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20:06 | 12/ 08/ 2008 http://img.rian.ru/i/b_print.gif

 

 

 

 

 

 

Russia, France agree on 6 principles to resolve S.Ossetia crisis

MOSCOW, August 12 (RIA Novosti) - The presidents of Russia and France agreed Tuesday on six principles to resolve the situation in the Georgian breakaway republic of South Ossetia.

 

"The first is not to resort to the use of force. The second is to halt all military action. The third is free access to humanitarian aid. The fourth is that Georgian Armed Forces should return to their bases. The fifth is that Russian Armed Forces should pull back to their positions prior to combat," Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told a news conference with his French counterpart, Nicolas Sarkozy.

 

"The sixth is the beginning of international discussions on the future status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and on ways to ensure their security," he added.

 

Medvedev also said that Georgia's August 8 attack on Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, should be taken into account when deciding the future status of both South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another breakaway Georgian republic. He made reference to the "precedent" of Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence in February, and its subsequent recognition by the United States and the majority of EU countries.

 

The Russian president added that the residents of the two rebel regions should be consulted on whether they wanted to be part of Georgia.

 

"They will give an unequivocal answer, an answer that cannot be given by Russia or any other country," he said

 

Medvedev also accused Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili of lying when he said that Georgia had ceased fire two days ago.

 

"As to the statement made by the Georgian president that a ceasefire has been in place for two days, this is a lie," he said.

 

Medvedev also commented that Russia's offensive against Georgia was the only possible response to Tbilisi's attack on South Ossetia.

 

"If Russia had had another way to react to Georgia's aggression against South Ossetia, we would have done this. There was no other way to respond," Medvedev said.

 

"Bullies differ from normal people in that when they sense blood it's very hard to stop them, and then one is forced to employ surgical methods," he added.

 

Russia has said that some 1,600 people were killed in Friday's attack on Tskhinvali by Georgian forces. Russia has accused Georgian troops of atrocities, including the burning alive of women and children.

 

The U.S. led Western condemnation of Russia's military operation to "enforce peace" in South Ossetia, with President George Bush calling Russia's response "disproportionate."

 

He also said that Russia "has invaded a sovereign neighboring state and threatens a democratic government elected by its people."

 

Sarkozy said at the news conference that Europe was ready to join peacekeeping operations in South Ossetia.

 

The French leader is due to take the Russian-French peace plan to Tbilisi later this evening.

 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said however that if Tbilisi rejected the peace plan, Moscow would have to take measures to prevent further violence in South Ossetia.

 

South Ossetia and Abkhazia broke away from Georgia after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Both republics fought vicious wars with Tbilisi that eventually ended in the retreat of Georgian troops and the regions gaining de facto independence.

 

Georgia alleged, although the claims were unproven, that the rebels had been armed with Russian-supplied military equipment. When the Rose Revolution street protests swept the pro-Western Saakashvili to power in 2004, the new president vowed to bring the regions back under central government control. Russian had earlier granted citizenship to residents of both republics.

 

Saakashvili also pledged to bring Georgia into NATO. For this to happen, the country's "frozen" conflicts would have to be resolved. Indeed, South Ossetia and Abkhazia were the reason why Georgia was not given a NATO Membership Action Plan in April, objections from Germany and France that doing so would unnecessarily antagonize Russia thwarting U.S. enthusiasm for welcoming Tbilisi into the military alliance.

 

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said on Tuesday that a Russia-NATO session on the situation in Georgia and its breakaway republic of South Ossetia would be held in the near future.

 

 

[MosJan]

Georgian leader rails against Russia, announces break from CIS

18:09 | 12/ 08/ 2008

 

Print version

 

MOSCOW, August 12 (RIA Novosti) - Georgia's president gave a speech in front of thousands of flag-waving supporters outside parliament on Tuesday, denouncing Russia and declaring his country's withdrawal from a post-Soviet alliance.

 

Mikheil Saakashvili has accused Russia of occupying half his country in a "peace enforcement operation" that ended on Tuesday. Russia says it no longer considers Saakashvili a partner, following Georgia's offensive in breakaway Ossetia last Friday, which killed at least 1,600 people, most of whom were Russian citizens.

 

"As president of Georgia, I stand before you in very difficult circumstances... Yesterday I saw with my own eyes how we were bombed," he said.

 

Georgia will "continue to stand firm" against the Russian aggressors, the president told the crowd.

 

He also announced that his country would leave the Commonwealth of Independent States, and urged Ukraine to follow suit.

 

"We have decided that Georgia will leave the CIS," he said. "We urge Ukraine and other countries to also leave the Commonwealth of Independent States, which is dominated by Russia."

 

Excluding Georgia, the CIS has 10 full members - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

 

Saakashvili said Georgia now considers Russian troops in the South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Georgia's other rebel region, to be occupiers.

 

"We have taken the decision to declare Russian armed forces in Abkhazia and South Ossetia occupying forces," he said.

 

Russia's foreign minister earlier on Tuesday highlighted the severity of the crimes committed by Georgian forces in their attack on South Ossetia, and said Russia can no longer negotiate with President Saakashvili.

 

"The best thing would be for him to resign," Sergei Lavrov said.

 

Saakashvili "has killed our [Russian] citizens, ordered the crushing of women and children by tanks, and the burning alive of a group of girls herded into a cattle shed," Lavrov said. "And not only did he do all this with a background of European flags, but he declared that he was safeguarding American values."

 

"The crimes committed by the Tbilisi regime in South Ossetia merit investigation at an international tribunal," he said.

[MosJan]

 

BP shuts down Georgia pipelines

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44915000/gif/_44915797_pipeline_3_226.gif Three pipelines that run through Georgia are now out of action. Energy giant BP says it has shut two of three pipelines that run through Georgia as a precautionary measure.

 

A spokeswoman for the firm said the oil and gas pipelines, which run from the Caspian Sea into Georgia, had not been damaged by the recent fighting.

 

The oil pipeline, which BP owns as part of a consortium, can carry up to 90,000 barrels of oil per day.

 

Another key oil pipeline, which runs from Azerbaijan through southern Georgia into Turkey, is already shut.

 

The closure comes as the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that the conflict posed a threat to key oil and gas pipelines that pass through Georgia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The IEA said that Georgia was of strategic importance to energy markets but that so far oil prices "had not been materially affected".

 

BP said it had closed the Western Route Export Pipeline (WREP), which runs from Baku on the Caspian Sea in Azerbaijan to the Georgian Black Sea port of Supsa, this morning.

 

It has also stopped pumping gas into the South Caucasus pipeline, which runs from the Caspian Sea, through Georgia, into Turkey, although BP said gas will continue to run through the line for another seven days.

 

Precarious

 

The larger Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline has been closed since early August following an explosion on the eastern Turkish section of the line. The current conflict could also delay its reopening, scheduled for September.

 

 

 

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44910000/jpg/_44910723_a6ea5ecd-cb7a-4a93-83bb-1d0f55cd621c.jpg Oil and gas is transported through Georgia to Europe. It is the world's second-largest pipeline and runs from Azerbaijan through southern Georgia into Turkey. It can transport up to 1.2 million barrels of oil a day.

 

"Renewed flows through Georgia could be further delayed if the line is damaged during the Russia-Georgia conflict," the IEA said in its monthly report.

 

It added that the outage and the eruption of hostilities highlighted the potentially precarious nature of pipeline energy supplies in the region.

 

BP has a 30% stake in the BTC pipeline.

 

It had been hoped that transporting oil through the region would make the West less dependent on supplies from Russia

[MosJan]

 

Georgia gets the jitters as Russia outlines its requirements

 

Presidents of Russia and France, Dmitry Medvedev and Nicolas Sarkozy, have come to an agreement on the regulation of the conflict in South Ossetia. The agreement is based on six principles, Interfax reports.

 

Medvedev described the six principles during a joint press conference with his French counterpart.

 

“The first principle – not to use force. The second – to definitively stop all military actions. The third – to provide free access to humanitarian aid. The fourth – Georgia’s armed forces must return to the places of their permanent deployment. The fifth – Russia’s armed forces will be withdrawn to the positions preceding the beginning of the military actions. The sixth – the start of the international discussion of issues of the future status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia by means of guaranteeing their solid security,” Medveded said.

 

When asked why Russia decided to halt military actions in S. Ossetia today, Medvedev said: “The operation, which the Russian forces were conducting, has brought its results. That is why we have ended it.”

 

“It was supposed to be done today, not yesterday or tomorrow. We herewith made a temporal decision to cease fire until the problem is entirely solved within the framework of the principles which we have just named,” the Russian president said.

 

Dmitry Medvedev strongly refuted statements from the Georgian administration which said that Georgia had ceased fire in the conflict zone two days ago.

 

“As for the affirmation of the Georgian president, who said that Georgia ceased fire in the conflict zone two days ago – these are lies.” Medvedev said. “The Georgian forces were shelling peacemakers. Unfortunately, there were victims yesterday. In other words, there was no cease fire with Georgia,” he added.

 

“This is what differs those hell-raisers from normal people: it is very hard to stop them when they smell blood,” Medvedev said.

 

Russia ’s Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, emphasized that the Georgian troops must return to their barracks.

 

“All the rest will have no point without this condition. South Ossetian residents will hardly understand that they can return and restore their homes without this condition. If Georgia does not accept this condition, we will be forced to take other measures not to let the current situation, which has been formed as a result of Georgia’s aggression, repeat itself. This is the absolute condition for everything else,” Lavrov said.

 

“The fact that the president of France has completely agreed with that is important. We hope that the president of France will inform the Georgian administration of these principles,” the Russian foreign minister said.

 

In the meantime, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili goes into a tail-spin as he senses Russia’s anger. He announced Tuesday that Georgia was going to pull out from the Commonwealth of Independent States, a post-Soviet organization which unites nearly all ex-Soviet republics. Saakashvili made the announcement on a meeting in front of the building of the Georgian parliament in the center of Tbilisi.

 

“We are bidding final farewell to the Soviet Union. The USSR will never come back here. We urge Ukraine and other members of the CIS to leave the organization which Russia administers,” ITAR-TASS quoted the Georgian president as saying.

 

In addition, Saakashvili stated that he declared the Russian troops in Abkhazia and South Ossetia occupation troops.

 

 

[MosJan]

Key numbers from the Georgia-Russia conflict

 

By The Associated Press – 41 minutes ago

 

LENGTH OF WAR: Six days of fighting in Georgia and two separatist regions, South Ossetia and Abhkazia, from Aug. 7 through Aug. 12 before a cease-fire was declared by Russia.

 

MILITARY: Russia has 1.1 million soldiers, Georgia has 37,000. The Russian armed forces have about 6,000 tanks and some 1,700 combat aircraft. Georgia has 230 tanks and 12 combat aircraft.

 

_ Russia sent 20,000 troops and 500 tanks into Georgia, according to the Georgian president. In Abhkazia alone, Russia estimated it had at least 9,000 troops and 350 armored vehicles.

 

_ The U.S. helped Georgia bring about 2,000 Georgian troops from Iraq during the fighting.

 

DEATH TOLL: About 2,000 people, most of them with Russian passports, were killed in South Ossetia as of Aug. 12, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Georgia's Reintegration Minister Temur Yakobashvili said more than 100 Georgians died, including civilians and soldiers.

 

DISPLACED: The U.N. Refugee Agency estimates almost 100,000 people were displaced, according to figures provided by both governments. Georgian officials say a few thousand fled south into Georgia proper from South Ossetia, and up to 12,000 were estimated to be displaced within South Ossetia. Russian officials in North Ossetia suggest 30,000 people from South Ossetia remain in Russia.

 

OIL: Two pipelines were shut down. British energy group BP said Aug. 12 that it closed a pipeline in Georgia carrying "a limited amount" of gas and oil because of the conflict. Another pipeline operated by the London-based oil company in Georgia was out of action after a fire last week in Turkey.

 

MILITARY BASES: Russia seized a Georgian military base in the town of Senaki. At least four other Georgian air bases were bombed, including a base on the outskirts of Gori, the Vaziani military base on the outskirts of Tbilisi, the Marneuli air base, and another base in Bolnisi.

 

TOWNS HIT: Tskhinvali, Zugdidi, Senaki.

 

AMERICANS EVACUATED: More than 170 American citizens evacuated from Georgia to Armenia by the U.S. State Department.

 

JOURNALISTS KILLED: Three. Dutch TV correspondent Stan Storimans, and photojournalists Alexander Klimchuk and Grigol Chikhladze of Caucasus Images, according to The Committee to Protect Journalists. The group reported at least eight journalists were injured and two were missing.

 

WAR PRISONERS: The International Committee of the Red Cross said they visited two wounded Russian pilots detained by Georgian authorities.

[MosJan]

U.S., Russia Should Be Friends, Equals

 

 

 

Ed Koch Tue Aug 12, 8:20 AM ET

 

War between Russia and Georgia, and an illicit romance between John Edwards and a woman who served on his campaign staff when he ran for president are dominating the headlines and dinner table conversation.

 

First, the war. Responding to Russian provocations, Georgia and its president, Mikheil Saakashvilli, unwisely began to fight, which was just what Russia was hoping for. Two of Georgia's provinces, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, are seeking independence and are being encouraged by Russia and its prime minister, Vladimir Putin. Putin is incensed that Georgia, a state that was formerly part of the Soviet Union, is not only a good friend of the United States -- it provided 2,500 troops to assist us in Iraq, the largest contingent after Great Britain -- it is also seeking to become part of NATO.

 

On the opening day of the Olympics, Georgia sent troops to take back the provincial capital of South Ossetia. Big mistake. Russia, using the same pretext that Hitler used when he invaded Czechoslovakia in 1938, invaded the province and then Georgia itself. Why is Russia taking this aggressive action? The Russians are furious that the U.S. and Europe allowed Kosovo, formerly a part of Serbia, a Russian ally, to gain independence. Putin is now showing that two can play at that game.

In my view, it was an error to allow Kosovo to separate from Serbia and become independent. I also believe it was a mistake to seek to encircle Russia and cause it to believe the U.S. and NATO are threatening it by trying to co-opt into the Western alliance countries on its borders, e.g., the Baltic states, Poland , the Ukraine and Georgia.

 

A better course would have been to make Russia a full partner with the U.S., including urging Russia to become a NATO member. Even today, after the end of the U.S.S.R., world peace depends in significant part on good U.S. - Russian relations.

 

Our partnership with Russia, successor to the U.S.S.R., was essential in World War II. Without Russia's sacrifices, we would not have been able to defeat Hitler. In that bloody war, the Soviet Union lost nine million soldiers and millions of civilians in defeating the Nazis, and I believe, suffered 300,000 casualties in the taking of Berlin alone.

 

It is imperative that neither candidate, Barack Obama and John McCain, fan the winds of war by proposing the U.S. provide Georgia with military assistance of any kind or worse, threatening Russia in any way. Vice President Cheney's warning to Russia, "that Russian aggression must not go unanswered, and that its continuation would have serious consequences for its relations with the United States, as well as the broader international community," is a mistake which should not be repeated. This war has an enormous potential for spreading.

 

So we should not bluster or threaten Russia in the current crisis, but rather, convey and convince them of our desire to be their friend and partner, in which they would have an equal role with us. As for Georgia, it cannot win the war that it initiated with Russia and should declare a unilateral ceasefire and have an airing of all of the issues at the United Nations Security Council.

 

Now, to John Edwards. He deserves our contempt, not because he had an affair with Rielle Hunter and abused his relationship with his wife, Elizabeth, who is ill with cancer. His moral failure in that regard is between Edwards and his family. His relationship with society at large is that he has proved to be a hypocrite. As part of his campaign for president in 2008, he said, "I want to see our party lead on the great moral issues - yes, me a Democrat using that word - the great moral issues that face our country. If we want to live in a moral, honest just America and if we want to live in a moral and just world, we can't wait for somebody else to do it. We have to do it."

 

Further and equally important, Edwards demonstrated a total lack of judgment. How in the world did he expect to run for president when he knew that a significant number of people knew of his sexual liaison which began, he admits, in 2006. Worse still, not long ago, he went into a panic when confronted by a reporter in the wee hours of the morning after visiting Ms. Hunter at a hotel. He ran to the sanctuary of a men's toilet, reportedly holding onto the door handle to keep others from entering until the hotel management came to his rescue. John Edwards, the recipient of the $400 haircut, the owner of the home with the most square footage in North Carolina, and the self-appointed populist leader who would lead the country out of poverty, when put to the test of exercising judgment, abjectly failed, and has become the butt of every standup comedian on the boob tube.

[MosJan]

Fighting Raises the Stakes

For Embattled U.S. Ally

Russian Assault

May Be Designed

To Topple President

By MARC CHAMPION

August 11, 2008; Page A10

 

TBILISI, Georgia -- At dawn on Sunday, after staying up all night, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili ordered Georgian troops to withdraw in the face of an overwhelming Russian assault. Reports were coming in that Russian naval ships had landed more troops on the Black Sea coast.

[Mikheil Saakashvili]

 

"I was thinking about how this isn't about South Ossetia at all anymore, it is about saving Georgia as a nation," said Mr. Saakashvili in a phone interview Sunday night. Aides said he looked pale.

 

Having played high-stakes poker for nearly five years with the Russian bear in a way no other regional leader has dared, Mr. Saakashvili, a staunch U.S. ally, appears to be deep in the hole and without his poker face.

 

Mr. Saakashvili said he didn't regret his actions. He dismissed Russian accusations of genocide and war crimes as propaganda and insisted that a general perception that he had provoked Russia by launching an all-out attack on South Ossetia's capital, Tskhinvali, was untrue.

 

Once a heavy assault on Georgian positions began Thursday, the news that 150 Russian tanks were approaching the region had forced him to act. "Our military said the only option we had was to use long-range artillery and move up to destroy the bridge" above Tskhinvali, Mr. Saakashvili said.

 

Mr. Saakashvili said he hadn't slept in three days and was about to have his first meal with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who had just flown into Tbilisi. The Georgian president called Russia's intervention a historic mistake by Moscow that would turn the region against Russia, and he denied that Georgian forces had been defeated. "We have the smallest army in the region and Russia has one of the biggest armies in the world," said Mr. Saakashvili. "We cannot compete ... but our troops are in very good shape."

 

The Russian assault that many Georgian officials and analysts believed is designed in part to drive Mr. Saakashvili from power has rallied Georgians behind him. But the risks of further humiliation and further destruction of Georgia's fragile economy are clear. On Sunday, Russia said it no longer sees Mr. Saakashvili as someone it can negotiate with, indicating Moscow could seek his ouster as a condition of any settlement.

 

A 41-year-old U.S.-educated lawyer who swept to power in Georgia at the head of a popular, pro-democracy revolution in 2004, Mr. Saakashvili had promised to transform his country -- then little better than a failed state -- into a Western-style democracy on track to join the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization military alliance. He also promised to reintegrate Georgia's then three Russian-backed separatist regions -- South Ossetia in the north and Abkhazia and Ajara in the West.

 

These were bold ambitions that made Mr. Saakashvili a darling of the West. But they also put him in conflict with Moscow and, in particular, then-President Vladimir Putin. Not only was Moscow the guarantor of Georgia's separatist regions, Mr. Putin was determined to reassert Russian influence over its ex-Soviet neighbors and to stop the eastward expansion of NATO and the EU.

 

By numerous accounts, the two men detest each other. Burly, gangling and excitable, Mr. Saakashvili is the opposite of Mr. Putin, a compact, icy former KGB agent. Western diplomats complained that Mr. Saakashvili and his government often provoked Russia.

 

"Listen, we brought into power a post-Soviet generation in Georgia. We have ministers in our cabinet who are in their mid-20s -- those people don't even remember the Soviet Union," Mr. Saakashvili said. "Should they hide their feelings? Should they not speak out? That's why we weren't scared of [Russian] embargoes and threats. And once we stop this situation, I'm sure we will rebuild our economy."

[Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili spoke with a woman who officials say was injured during a bombardment of a town near South Ossetia.]

Associated Press

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili spoke with a woman who officials say was injured during a bombardment of a town near South Ossetia.

 

Mr. Saakashvili has had some significant successes. Buoyed by the euphoria of the Rose revolution, he quickly squared off with the leader of Ajara, Aslan Abashidze. Mr. Abashidze fled to Moscow, without bloodshed. Mr. Saakasvhili began an investment program in Ajara's port city, Batumi, to try to win over separatists in the other territories. For the same reason, he built discos in villages around Tskhinvali, in South Ossetia.

 

Faced with endemic corruption, Mr. Saakashvili decided to tackle the traffic police, hated in Georgia and across the ex-Soviet Union for the daily bribes they extort from drivers, randomly stepping into the road to wave cars down. He fired half of the 30,000-strong force and put the other half in patrol cars at 10 times the salary.

 

It was a typically brusque move. Mr. Saakashvili introduced flat taxes and started enforcing collection. The government budget soared. He shook down businessmen who had profited from the corruption of the old regime, forcing them to negotiate back taxes or go to jail. In a country that for years had lacked electricity for lights, he lit Tbilisi like a gaudy Christmas tree.

 

Concerns, however, were developing over Mr. Saakashvili's authoritarian and sometimes impetuous style. He quickly ran afoul of Moscow, touting Georgia as an example of how democracy and a market economy could be made to work in the ex-Soviet Union. He sang Georgia's praises as a corridor through which to run natural gas and oil supplies from Azerbaijan and Central Asia to Europe, challenging Russia's transport monopoly. He opened a museum of Soviet oppression in Tbilisi.

 

"It's weird," Mr. Saakashvili mused at the time. "We are perceived [by Russia] as some kind of forefront in a world-wide plot of the CIA and the Western world against [its] greatness."

 

He also tried in 2004 to force a repeat of his Ajaran success in South Ossetia. After a few days of skirmishes, Georgian troops beat a retreat.

 

Russia subsequently imposed a series of trade embargoes and other punishments on Georgia, blocking sales of wine, mineral water and other products. Each time Mr. Saakashvili brushed off the attacks and said it would help anchor Georgia's economy in the West.

 

Last week, however, Russia took off the gloves.

 

On Sunday morning, Mr. Saakashvili said he was also thinking about Finland. "I've read all the books about how Finland fought this kind of war in 1939," he said. Finland held out heroically against the far larger forces of the Red army for months, eventually forcing Josef Stalin to settle.

 

Write to Marc Champion at marc.champion@wsj.com

 

 

[Z'areh]

Now it is quite clear to Azerbaijan, Im sure, that having aspirations to join NATO simply does not pay off in the end. They, the Azeri leadership, must be thinking now how to find a way to "satisfy" Kremlin's needs, as far as energy, influence and political controls are concerned. In that respect a successful Russian hegemony over the Caucasus can not be good for Armenia. If they play their cards well Azerbaijan can bargain with Russia over Artsakh successfully. The simple factor that can oil Azerbaijan's play against Armenia (pardon the pun) is ENERGY. There is a well founded logic that says today oil and gas have replaced nuclear weapons for exerting influence, Russia has chosen that root and so far it seems it can be as effective a tool as nuclear bombs in this energy hungry environment. This factor alone can make Armenia useless for Russia. If Azerbaijan is also brought under Kremlin's control then I can't see what levers Armenians can use to achieve success in Artsakh. It will be a hundred times more difficult for Armenia to achieve a favourable solution. Edited August 13, 2008 by Z'areh

[MosJan]

Abkhazia says Georgian troops pushed out of upper Kodori Gorge

21:31 | 12/ 08/ 2008

 

Print version

 

SUKHUMI, August 12 (RIA Novosti) - Abkhazia's operation to force Georgian troops from the upper part of the Kodori Gorge has been completed, the Abkhaz deputy defense minister said on Tuesday.

 

"The armed forces of Abkhazia have reached the border with Georgia in the Kodori Gorge," General Anatoly Zaitsev said.

 

Georgia's breakaway republic of Abkhazia started early Tuesday a full-scale onslaught to force Georgia's troops from the northern part of the gorge, the only part of the province still controlled by Georgia.

 

The move came a day after Abkhazia issued an ultimatum to Georgia to leave the strategic region, three days after Tbilisi began a ground and air offensive in its other separatist republic, South Ossetia.

 

Abkhaz President Sergei Bagapsh told a Security Council session in Sukhumi the operation in the Kodori Gorge, located in the breakaway republic and which Georgia occupied in 2006 in violation of a 1994 ceasefire agreement, would continue until the "jurisdiction" of Abkhazia was restored.

 

Georgia now faces the prospect of permanently losing all control over both its breakaway regions, following its costly attempt at seizing South Ossetia. Russia, which supports both regions and has given Russian citizenship to most of their residents, retaliated to the Georgian offensive by sending in hundreds of tanks and thousands of troops, and striking military targets across Georgia.

 

Around 1,600 people in South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, were killed by Georgian forces, according to Russia, and at least 34,000 locals fled north across the Russian border.

 

Abkhazia, which has an agreement with South Ossetia on military assistance in the event of armed conflicts, imposed martial law on Sunday in the areas bordering Georgia, and announced partial mobilization.

 

Russia has committed more than 9,000 paratroopers and 350 armored vehicles to Abkhazia in an attempt to prevent the South Ossetian conflict spreading, and to guard against a potential Georgian attack on Abkhazia.

[MosJan]

 

Saakashvili's personal weapon: the media

 

http://www.russiatoday.com/media/news/7/48a24cb2221bd.jpeg

 

 

With his face shown daily on nearly all international news channels, Mikhail Saakashvili has been literally making the news. The Georgian President seems to have chosen the media as his battlefield in the conflict. As Russian peacekeepers tackled violence on the ground, Saakashvili fought back - increasingly with soft power - through the airwaves.

 

With his polished international image, and fluent English, the American-educated lawyer turned the international news media into his playing field.

 

But for Nazi Veshaguri, this is not a game. For five days she’s been worried sick about her son. She hadn’t heard a word from him - and his cell phone appeared to be switched off. Finally, she made contact.

 

“He said to me, 'mom I’m alive. I’m safe. And I’ll be back'. Oh, I can’t tell you how relieved I am. It’s been a living nightmare. For five days I didn’t know where he was. I’ve already lost one son. It’s enough in my life. I cannot support my government in this war. I cannot. but I support my Georgia,” Veshaguri said.

 

Despite the calls from mothers like Nazi, Saakashvili has no time for their tears. His arsenal lies with the foreign media.

 

TV journalists come and go from his office and, since the start of the war, his face has appeared at least four times on CNN, four times on BBC World, and once on Bloomberg TV.

 

Only Russian journalists have not been welcomed into his office.

 

“We have a feeling that he’s acting too much to the west, to his allies, to the foreign and especially Western media. We were surprised as well that he makes so many statements in English. He knows the public face of his work and I think he does it very well. And I think these last days he’s been giving a lot of interviews with CNN, the BBC and other channels. He knows what he’s doing,” Spanish television journalist Mikel Reparaz says.

 

But it’s not only on the foreign front that Saakashvili’s propaganda machine has been working. At home it’s in full swing to raise patriotic feelings among his own people

 

Alex Gaelia, a cameraman who has just returned from the frontline, captured the horrors of the conflict.

 

“I don’t believe Saakashvili’s image will be better after this war. After so many dead, how can his image be better in Georgia?” Gaelia asks.

 

Nano Abisadze, who works for the Georgian Human Rights Centre, says history will judge her president's image.

 

“It doesn’t matter if he speaks English or not. He speaks Russian very well too. It’s not about image, it’s about political and economic interest. Saakashvili thinks that for Georgia it’s better to be with the West; and the West have put a lot of money into Georgia. This is why they deal with each other,” she says.

 

On Tuesday, thousands demonstrated in front of the parliament building in support of the Government.

 

But the demonstrators are more likely to be worried about the facts on the ground than whether or not Saakashvili’s slick media campaign is doing their country any favours.

 

 

[MosJan]

News Send to friend | Print version http://www.russiatoday.com/media/news/4/48a193f0df4ab.jpg M-16 Barrels August 12, 2008, 17:41

Revealed: how U.S. funds Georgian arms

The United States has been providing military and technical support to independent Georgia for almost 15 years. During this period, the overall amount of annual aid from Washington has increased by more than several hundred times, and reached its peak in the financial year till 2006. It has meant that Georgia’s army was well prepared for an attack on South Ossetia. RT offers a brief history of the preparation by the Georgian armed forces for the war.

 

• 1994: Georgia received $63,000 under the programme of the International Military Education and Training (IMET).
• 1995: Georgia received $85,000 under IMET.
• 1996: Georgia received $302,000 under IMET. It purchased American military equipment for $66.000. Total: $368,000.
• 1997: Georgia received $312,000 under IMET. It purchased American military equipment for $66,000. It received $700,000 under the programme of the Foreign Military Financing (FMF). Total: $1,068,000.
• 1998: Georgia received $416,000 under IMET. It received $5,350,000 under EMF. Total: $5,766,000.
• 1999: Georgia received $394,000 under IMET. It received $7,950,000 under FMF. It purchased American arms for $19,000. It received $9,227,040 under the programme of Additional Defense Expenses (ADE). Total: $17,590,040.
• 2000: Georgia received $409,000 under IMET. It received $3,000,000 under FMF. It purchased American arms for $3,949,000. It received $575,000 under ADE. Total: $7,933,000.
• 2001: Georgia received $481,000 under IMET. It received $4,490,000 under FMF. It purchased American arms for $5,171,000. It received $575,000 under ADE. Total: $10,717,000.
• 2002: Georgia received $889,000 under IMET. It received $55,500,000 under FMF. It purchased American arms for $3,647,000. Total: $60,036,000.
• 29th April 2002: Pentagon announced the beginning of the Programme of Preparation and Equipment for Georgia (PPEG). The programme was implemented upon Georgia’s request for assistance in order to enhance its abilities to fight against terrorism, in the Pankisi Gorge in particular. The program was planned for 18-20 months. It included special seminars and training as well as supplies of light armaments and other military equipment for the Georgian army. Total budget of the programme was $64,000,000. Also, at least 150 American military experts were sent to Georgia. The Programme of Border Security and Law enforcement, with a budget of $3,200,000, was implemented at the same time.
• 2003: Georgia received $1,184,000 under IMET. It received $6,900,000 under FMF. It purchased American arms for $9,825,000. It received $4,525,054 under ADE. Total: $22,434,054.
• 2004: Georgia received $1,040,000 under IMET. It received $12,000,000 under FMF. It purchased American arms for $7,405,000. It received $2,786,257 under ADE. Total: $23,231,257.
• April 2004: Programme of Preparation and Equipment for Georgia was formally completed. The programme of operation for stabilisation and reinforcement began. It was formally intended for the preparation of Georgian armed forces to be sent to Iraq. The first stage of the program was planned for 18-20 months with a budget of approximately $60,000,000.
• 2005: Georgia received $1,413,000 under IMET. It received $11,904,000 under FMF. It purchased American arms for $32,044,000. Total: $45,361,000.
• 2006: Georgia received $1,275,000 under IMET. It received $11,880,000 under FMF. It purchased American for $106,714,000. Total: $119,869,000.
• 2007: Georgia received $1,235,000 under IMET. It received $10,000,000 under FMF. It purchased American arms for $10,876,000. Total: $22,102,000.
• September 2007: Beginning of the second stage of the programme of operation for stabilisation and reinforcement.
• 2008: $800,000 was allocated to Georgia under IMET. $10,000,000 was allocated under FMF. $9,319,000 was allocated for purchase of American arms. Total: $20,119,000.

[MosJan]

kardum em es amen@ / manavand es verchin@ ur zenqeri yev zinamtherqi masin er xosum vratsiq zinvel en, janaparh gtel zinvelu, isk menq ?? isk menq iraru por enq tapum te um sireli andzn e prezident darnalu

[MosJan]

News Send to friend | Print version http://www.russiatoday.com/media/news/7/48a25db0f0948.jpgAFP Photo/ Gerard Cerles August 13, 2008, 7:40

Ceasefire reached

Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev and his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy have drawn up a six point peace plan for settling the conflict in South Ossetia. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has accepted the plan. That's according to French president Nikolas Sarkozy who's been mediating the agreement. Sarkozy announced this at a joint news conference with Saakashvili in Tbilisi.

 

According to the plan, both Georgian and Russian troops will retreat to their previous positions before the violence began.

 

Both sides also agree to the non use of force.

 

Sarkozy said the European Union would act as a guarantor in the process of regulating the conflict.

 

Peace plan devised

 

Sarkozy had been in Moscow earlier and hammered out the deal with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev. It called for the sides to sign up to the following principles:

 

1) Non-use of force.

 

2) Stop all military action.

 

3) Free access to humanitarian aid.

 

4) Georgian troops return to their previous positions before the conflict.

 

5) Russian troops return to the lines they held before the start of the military operation. Before an international solution is worked out Russian peacekeepers are taking up an additional security role.

 

6) The start of an international discussion over the future status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

 

To watch the press conference of the Russian and French presidents please follow the link.

 

The French President showed his understanding of Russia’s position. He added that France and Europe sought peace, and all the efforts now are aimed at achieving it.

 

“It’s quite normal that Russia wants to defend its interests, as well as the interests of Russians both in and outside Russia. It is also normal that we, the international community, want to guarantee the integrity, sovereignty and independence of Georgia. France has delivered a document to you and, I hope, we will be working on that basis,” he said.

 

Shortly after the attacks began last week, the country urged all sides to show restraint and avoid any escalation, as well as a resumption of direct dialogue between them.

 

France also proposed a ceasefire plan, which was rejected by Russia. Moscow insisted that before the ceasefire could take place, Georgia must withdraw its troops from the conflict area.

 

The two Presidents have also had several phone conversations in the past few days on the situation in South Ossetia and Georgia.

 

Reports say Georgian troops continue fire

 

There are reports from South Ossetia of continued small arms fire. Russian peacekeepers say Georgian troops are firing on their positions in the capital Tskhinvali.

 

A curfew in the capital of South Ossetia came into force on Tuesday.

 

The news comes as Moscow announced the end of military operations in the republic. Russia has urged Tbilisi to re-deploy its military outside South Ossetia and sign an agreement not to use force.

 

Authorities in South Ossetia say about two thousand people have died in the fighting. Their capital Tskhinvali lies in ruins. Russian emergency services say they are caring for 600 wounded in the area.

 

Work is now being carried-out to provide humanitarian aid to those who are still there, as well as to restore electricity, gas and water supplies to the city.

 

“I was here in 1992, memories are resurging. I have a very heavy impression from what I saw of the destruction there, of the people suffering. I hope this will never be repeated. We are going to discuss with the government of South Ossetia what help is needed in the first place. We'll take care of the necessary infrastructure - gas, water, electricity, hospitals - here we have everything needed for that,” Russia’s Emergency Minister Sergey Shoigu - now in the region - said.

 

The Russian Government has promised some $US 40 million to help re-build the city.

 

It is estimated that more than 30,000 Ossetians have fled the fighting to cross the border to Russia. Funerals are being held in North Ossetia.

 

‘Invasion’ map discovered

 

Russian troops have discovered a map, which defence officials say indicates Tbilisi's real intentions with regard to Abkhazia.

 

The map apparently shows consecutive steps for the invasion of the breakaway republic of Abkhazia. It was found in a Georgian military vehicle.

 

Russian peacekeepers say the discovery reflects the moves of Georgian troops in the area.

 

August 13 day of mourning in Russia

 

At least 1,600 people are believed to have been killed during five days of violence.

 

President Medvedev has issued a decree declaring August 13 a day of mourning in Russia for the humanitarian disaster in South Ossetia.

 

Flags will be flown at half-mast throughout the country.

 

 

[hyethga]

It's a shame a Russian bomb didn't land on the Stalin statue in Gori's main square.

 

What kind of people continue to honor individuals with credentials like Stalin's?....

[shiner]

It's a shame a Russian bomb didn't land on the Stalin statue in Gori's main square.

 

What kind of people continue to honor individuals with credentials like Stalin's?....

 

Apparently the type of people who are close to the West.

[Arpa]

It's a shame a Russian bomb didn't land on the Stalin statue in Gori's main square.

 

What kind of people continue to honor individuals with credentials like Stalin's?....

The same kind of people who erect statues of butchers like atafurk and hitler. No matter who says what about him. After all, he was a Georgian.

How many Georgians did Stalin murder? I don't know. Zero?. How many Armenians did he murder? We will nver know.

One can only wish that we had such a "butcher" in our history. We would not have been the the world's all time "sacrificial lamb".

Why would not the Georgians revere him? How many non-Georgian enclaves like Ossetia, Abkhazia, Ajaria Javakh and Akhalkalak did he gift to the map of Georgia? How many Armenian enclaves like Javakh, Akhalakalak, Kars, Ani, Ararat, Nakhjavan and Artsakh did he gift to others?

Had he done for Armenia what he did for Georgia and boobjan, create fictitious nations from nothing, we would also erect monuments to him.

Edited August 13, 2008 by Arpa

[MosJan]

im s@rtits xosetsir Arpa papik

[MosJan]

ch@nayats inch es uzzum mi azgits ov 4 to 5 angam k@ronapox e yeghel, nuynisk 2 angam cristonya e darstel, hima el ashxahin nerkayanum e te inqn e arajin qristonya azg@

 

kam yerkir ov kochvum / anvanvum e otarAzgi mi tagavori anunov

 

 

chi yekeq tekuz yevc tsur nstenq jishrt@ xosenq - vrastanin hajoghvents anel iyn inch Yerevanum yerazum eyin unenal, chnayats vro Hayastani teranq@ yev dirq@ el aveli dzerntu er naft @ durs hanelu mez sh@rjantsetsin yev vrastan@ dartsav mi karevoraguyn yerkir ashxarhi iyd masum.

[MosJan]

 

USA shows its meanness again as Russia mourns victims of genocide

 

Georgia’s President Mikhail Saakashvili accepted the cease-fire conditions for the zone of the conflict between Georgia and South Ossetia and signed the document, which had been coordinated Tuesday between the presidents of Russia and France.

 

“We have coordinated the text of the entire document with President Saakashvili and introduced certain corrections,” Sarkozy said after the talks with Saakashvili in Tbilisi late Tuesday.

 

The document will be presented for the meeting of foreign ministers of all 27 countries of the European Union. “The ministers will approve the document, it will become a resolution and will have legal force,” the French president said.

 

As for the corrections introduced in the document, Sarkozy said that they had withdrawn the part about the international discussion of the future political status of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Instead, Sarkozy and Saakashvili emphasized the need to conduct international negotiations to guarantee stability and security in these two regions of Georgia.

 

“We are signing this document about the basic principles under the conditions of the humanitarian catastrophe. The most important aspect of the document is to cease fire. The regulation process should be initialized,” Georgia’s President Saakashvili said.

 

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hopes that the Russians will stop military operations, the scale of which does not match the circumstances, as she said in an interview with ABC.

 

Condoleezza Rice stated that Moscow’s integration in world’s biggest institutions was at risk because of the armed conflict.

 

“The Russians have said that they do want to be a part of that prosperous and forward-looking international community, and frankly they are doing great damage to their ability to do that," Rice told ABC.

 

"There are any number of opportunities for Russia to reverse course and to demonstrate that it is trying to behave according to 21st century principles," she said. "But, I can assure you that Russia's international reputation and what role Russia can play in the international community is very much at stake here."

 

Rice stated that the time, when the world would have to deal with the consequences of what happened in South Ossetia and Georgia, would come, although she did not specify what consequences Russia may eventually face.

 

The US Secretary of State repeated several times that Russia had a lot to lose, including its international reputation and its role in the international community.

 

Condoleezza Rice’s anti-Russian remarks became yet another demonstration of double standards of the Bush’s administration in terms of sovereignty and territorial integrity, ITAR-TASS reports.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part #1

 

 

 

[MosJan]

part #2

Washington blatantly ignored these principles several months ago, when it recognized the independence of Kosovo, an inseparable part of Serbia. However, it just so happens that the US administration sees the sovereignty principles highly important when it comes to Georgia.

 

Rice particularly stated that since South Ossetia and Abkhazia sit within the internationally recognized borders of Georgia, any regulation of conflicts must be based on the territorial integrity of Georgia.

 

In the meantime, Russian President Medvedev signed a decree to declare August 13 the mourning day in Russia in connection with the humanitarian catastrophe in South Ossetia.

 

“Despite the agreements on peaceful regulation of the situation in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict and contrary to the UN Charter, Georgia’s armed forces illegally invaded the territory of South Ossetia on August 8, 2008. Using aviation and heavy artillery, the armed forces of Georgia attempted to seize South Ossetia, exterminating its civilians. Georgia has thus committed genocide of the South Ossetian nation, destroyed the city of Tskhinvali and other settlements, which resulted in a humanitarian catastrophe in South Ossetia,” the decree runs.

 

“In addition, Georgia attacked the military contingent of the armed forces of the Russian Federation, which was deployed in the region in accordance with international agreements to normalize the situation in the area of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict. This is classified as an act of aggression as per Resolution of the UN General Assembly of December 14, 1974,” the document says.

 

 

[hyethga]

The Russians are embarrassing themselves each time they call this a genocide.

 

This is crude Soviet style propaganda at it's worst. They need to learn how to deal and battle with the media.