U.S., Georgia Dispute Russian Claim of Troop Pullback (Update1)
By Sebastian Alison and Helena Bedwell
Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. and Georgian officials disputed Russia's assertion that it had begun withdrawing its forces to the separatist region of South Ossetia, leaving the fate of a two-day old cease-fire agreement in doubt.
``They're not leaving,'' Giga Bokeria, Georgia's deputy foreign minister, said by phone, adding that the city of Gori, near South Ossetia, remains under Russian control. ``By holding on to Gori they're demonstrating their desire to destabilize Georgia's infrastructure by paralyzing road and rail movement, which also affects neighboring Armenia.''
The military conflict over South Ossetia has displaced as many as 115,000 people, according to the United Nations, and has cemented the divide between Ossetians and Georgians. Russia signaled its intention to keep forces in the breakaway enclaves of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and oil shipments through Georgia were suspended after a railway bridge was blown up.
The fighting that began on Aug. 8 made Georgia a flashpoint in Russia's resistance to the spread of NATO to its borders. The West sees Georgia as a key ally, in part because its oil pipeline to the Black Sea bypasses Russia.
Russia's incursion rattled other former Soviet republics on Russia's borders. Latvia called for ``strong'' support for Georgia and Ukraine's international bonds fell for a fifth day. Ukraine imposed restrictions on the Russian navy last week.
`Red Line'
The U.S. will ``continue to closely monitor'' Russia's withdrawal, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. ``This is something that should be achieved without delay,'' he told reporters in Crawford, Texas, where President George W. Bush is vacationing at his ranch.
The European Union is ``serious, there is a red line and the red line is the withdrawal of the troops,'' French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said in Paris. ``There is no escape; they signed the document,'' he said, referring to the EU- brokered cease-fire.
Alexander Stubb, Finland's foreign minister and chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said the cease-fire ``is still intact.''
Georgia lost 197 soldiers in the fighting, while Russia has reported 74 dead. About 2,000 civilians died in South Ossetia, Russian officials have said. South Ossetia broke away from Georgia in a war in the early 1990s, and Russian peacekeepers have been deployed there under a 1992 agreement.
`Hard Line'
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili called on Russia to withdraw its troops as a condition for peace talks. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced the planned pullback after the U.S. and other western countries pressed him to honor the cease-fire.
``We're going to continue taking a hard line on ensuring security for the whole region, which is guaranteed by Russia's participation,'' Medvedev said during a military awards ceremony in Vladikavkaz, home of the 58th Army, which was the main force sent into South Ossetia.
The Russian government will ``spare no expense'' to provide the military with more and better weapons. ``The results of this operation'' in South Ossetia ``will be used as the basis for new approaches to arms procurement,'' he said.
Troop Movements
Russian forces blew up military equipment before leaving the Senaki military base near Abkhazia, the regional governor said today. Georgian Deputy Interior Minister Eka Zhguladze said Russian forces ``are heading deeper into Georgian territory from the town of Khashuri,'' near Gori, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali. A second Russian column was moving toward the town of Sachkhere, west of Gori, Zhguladze said.
This counters comments in Moscow today by Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of Russia's General Staff, who said, ``we're pulling out to the South Ossetian border.''
Georgia's Environment Ministry accused Russia of deliberately starting a fire in the Borjomi region that has burnt about 200 hectares (500 acres) of forest. Nogovitsyn said yesterday that the Georgian accusation ``elicited considerable surprise'' at Russia's Defense Ministry.
The Aug. 16 cease-fire calls for the withdrawal of Georgian and Russian troops, forswearing the use of force and making humanitarian aid freely available in the conflict areas. It allows Russian peacekeepers who were in South Ossetia and Abkhazia before the war broke out to take ``additional security measures,'' U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.
`Limited Patrols'
Those forces -- about 3,000 in Abkhazia and 588 in South Ossetia before the fighting began, according to the Russian government -- would be allowed to ``have limited patrols in a prescribed area within the zone of conflict, not to go into Georgian urban areas,'' Rice said on Aug. 16.
Members of NATO, whose foreign ministers meet in Brussels tomorrow to discuss the situation in South Ossetia, are likely to be satisfied in the short term with Russia's pullback because no other peacekeepers are yet deployed in the region, said Michael Denison, a lecturer in international security at Leeds University in England.
Once a final line of control is established, whether it's supervised by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe or some other body, ``whatever group comes in will have to put in place a genuinely international peacekeeping mission,'' he said by phone.
Oil Shipments
Until that happens, the West wants to see ``a serious signal of intent'' by the Russian army ``to move away from areas, especially urban areas, which have no connection with the fighting,'' Denison said. ``That will blunt international criticism.''
BP Plc, Azerbaijan's national oil company and other exporters halted rail transport of crude through Georgia to the Black Sea after a bridge was blown up two days ago.
Russian troops attacked a railway bridge near the Georgian village of Grakali on Aug. 16, paralyzing the country's train system, according to Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili. Nogovitsyn denied his military was involved in the incident.
To contact the reporter on this story: Helena Bedwell in Tbilisi [email protected]; Sebastian Alison in Moscow [email protected]
Last Updated: August 18, 2008 13:48 EDT
By Sebastian Alison and Helena Bedwell
Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. and Georgian officials disputed Russia's assertion that it had begun withdrawing its forces to the separatist region of South Ossetia, leaving the fate of a two-day old cease-fire agreement in doubt.
``They're not leaving,'' Giga Bokeria, Georgia's deputy foreign minister, said by phone, adding that the city of Gori, near South Ossetia, remains under Russian control. ``By holding on to Gori they're demonstrating their desire to destabilize Georgia's infrastructure by paralyzing road and rail movement, which also affects neighboring Armenia.''
The military conflict over South Ossetia has displaced as many as 115,000 people, according to the United Nations, and has cemented the divide between Ossetians and Georgians. Russia signaled its intention to keep forces in the breakaway enclaves of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and oil shipments through Georgia were suspended after a railway bridge was blown up.
The fighting that began on Aug. 8 made Georgia a flashpoint in Russia's resistance to the spread of NATO to its borders. The West sees Georgia as a key ally, in part because its oil pipeline to the Black Sea bypasses Russia.
Russia's incursion rattled other former Soviet republics on Russia's borders. Latvia called for ``strong'' support for Georgia and Ukraine's international bonds fell for a fifth day. Ukraine imposed restrictions on the Russian navy last week.
`Red Line'
The U.S. will ``continue to closely monitor'' Russia's withdrawal, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. ``This is something that should be achieved without delay,'' he told reporters in Crawford, Texas, where President George W. Bush is vacationing at his ranch.
The European Union is ``serious, there is a red line and the red line is the withdrawal of the troops,'' French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said in Paris. ``There is no escape; they signed the document,'' he said, referring to the EU- brokered cease-fire.
Alexander Stubb, Finland's foreign minister and chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said the cease-fire ``is still intact.''
Georgia lost 197 soldiers in the fighting, while Russia has reported 74 dead. About 2,000 civilians died in South Ossetia, Russian officials have said. South Ossetia broke away from Georgia in a war in the early 1990s, and Russian peacekeepers have been deployed there under a 1992 agreement.
`Hard Line'
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili called on Russia to withdraw its troops as a condition for peace talks. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced the planned pullback after the U.S. and other western countries pressed him to honor the cease-fire.
``We're going to continue taking a hard line on ensuring security for the whole region, which is guaranteed by Russia's participation,'' Medvedev said during a military awards ceremony in Vladikavkaz, home of the 58th Army, which was the main force sent into South Ossetia.
The Russian government will ``spare no expense'' to provide the military with more and better weapons. ``The results of this operation'' in South Ossetia ``will be used as the basis for new approaches to arms procurement,'' he said.
Troop Movements
Russian forces blew up military equipment before leaving the Senaki military base near Abkhazia, the regional governor said today. Georgian Deputy Interior Minister Eka Zhguladze said Russian forces ``are heading deeper into Georgian territory from the town of Khashuri,'' near Gori, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali. A second Russian column was moving toward the town of Sachkhere, west of Gori, Zhguladze said.
This counters comments in Moscow today by Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of Russia's General Staff, who said, ``we're pulling out to the South Ossetian border.''
Georgia's Environment Ministry accused Russia of deliberately starting a fire in the Borjomi region that has burnt about 200 hectares (500 acres) of forest. Nogovitsyn said yesterday that the Georgian accusation ``elicited considerable surprise'' at Russia's Defense Ministry.
The Aug. 16 cease-fire calls for the withdrawal of Georgian and Russian troops, forswearing the use of force and making humanitarian aid freely available in the conflict areas. It allows Russian peacekeepers who were in South Ossetia and Abkhazia before the war broke out to take ``additional security measures,'' U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.
`Limited Patrols'
Those forces -- about 3,000 in Abkhazia and 588 in South Ossetia before the fighting began, according to the Russian government -- would be allowed to ``have limited patrols in a prescribed area within the zone of conflict, not to go into Georgian urban areas,'' Rice said on Aug. 16.
Members of NATO, whose foreign ministers meet in Brussels tomorrow to discuss the situation in South Ossetia, are likely to be satisfied in the short term with Russia's pullback because no other peacekeepers are yet deployed in the region, said Michael Denison, a lecturer in international security at Leeds University in England.
Once a final line of control is established, whether it's supervised by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe or some other body, ``whatever group comes in will have to put in place a genuinely international peacekeeping mission,'' he said by phone.
Oil Shipments
Until that happens, the West wants to see ``a serious signal of intent'' by the Russian army ``to move away from areas, especially urban areas, which have no connection with the fighting,'' Denison said. ``That will blunt international criticism.''
BP Plc, Azerbaijan's national oil company and other exporters halted rail transport of crude through Georgia to the Black Sea after a bridge was blown up two days ago.
Russian troops attacked a railway bridge near the Georgian village of Grakali on Aug. 16, paralyzing the country's train system, according to Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili. Nogovitsyn denied his military was involved in the incident.
To contact the reporter on this story: Helena Bedwell in Tbilisi [email protected]; Sebastian Alison in Moscow [email protected]
Last Updated: August 18, 2008 13:48 EDT
