Who really started the war? The Russians, who supported and occupied separatist provinces in Georgia or Georgia, which launced an unprovoked attack on these provinces?
Russian Armor Rolls Home, Georgia Sees Wider Control (Update1)
By Lyubov Pronina and Helena Bedwell
Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Russia began withdrawing some tanks, artillery and troops from Georgia, stepping up a military pullout required under a cease-fire, as Georgia's leader said Russia is expanding its ``occupation'' of the country.
All Russian troops and hardware sent into Georgia on Aug. 8 will be pulled back into a peacekeeping zone by the end of the day tomorrow, Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of Russia's General Staff, told reporters today in Moscow.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said that for all Russia's talk of withdrawal, the military ``has actually widened its occupation'' of Georgia. ``It looks like they're relocating from urban areas to different positions that would enable them to control the country's economy,'' Saakashvili said.
Russian troops still hold all entrances to Gori, a major crossroads between east and west Georgia, and won't allow Georgian officials into the city, Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said by phone. Georgian officials have said Russia controls a third of the country.
U.S. Army General John Craddock, top military commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, renewed America's criticism of the pace of Russia's withdrawal. ``There are indications, but not enough to make us believe that it's going as fast as it should,'' he said today in Tbilisi. ``Russia should honor its commitment to withdraw, the sooner the better. It's overdue already.''
Tanks, Trucks
The ``large column'' of hardware that's returning to Russia today includes ``multiple launch systems,'' tanks, armored personnel carriers and trucks, a Russian Defense Ministry official said on customary condition of anonymity.
Russia has defied calls by President George W. Bush and other Western leaders for an immediate withdrawal from Georgia since a cease-fire agreement last week ended five days of fighting. Russian peacekeepers are deployed in South Ossetia under a 1992 agreement with Georgia.
The conflict in Georgia, Russia's first major international military operation since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, has opened a rift with the West and NATO.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Sochi today that Russia won't ``slam the door'' on its relations with NATO.
`Position of Strength'
``We are seeing impulses coming from NATO on reviewing its cooperation with Russia and we view them with regret,'' Foreign Ministry spokesman Igor Lyakin-Frolov said by phone in Moscow today. ``We are interested in cooperation with NATO as much as NATO is interested in working with us.''
Norway's Defense Ministry reported yesterday that Russia decided to ``freeze'' all military cooperation with the alliance.
In its dealings with the West, Russia is ``talking from a position of strength,'' Masha Lipman, a political analyst at the Moscow Carnegie Center, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. ``Russia's not in a mood to compromise, and Russia's demonstrating to the world that there isn't much the West can do, or at least not so far.''
The future status of the pair of separatist enclaves in Georgia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which broke away from Georgia in wars in the early 1990s, has emerged as a bone of contention between Russia and the West.
Abkhaz Appeal
Bush repeated yesterday that the two pro-Russian regions ``must remain a part of Georgia.'' Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Aug. 14 that Russia will support the regions' decisions about their legal status, but stopped short of formally recognizing them.
Abkhazia today renewed its appeal for recognition from Russia, sharpening the international dispute over who controls territory held by Russian forces. Russia's State Duma, the lower house of parliament, may appeal to the country's leaders on Monday to recognize the self-proclaimed republic, Interfax reported today, citing deputy speaker Oleg Morozov, a member of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's United Russia party.
Sergei Mironov, speaker of the upper house, the Federation Council, said ``Russia's political leadership has the will'' to settle the status issues, according to the chamber's press service. Both regions have held referendums in which voters backed independence.
South Ossetia also plans to appeal today for Russian recognition of its independence, the state-run RIA Novosti news service reported.
Kosovo Precedent
Both Abkhazia and South Ossetia have cited Kosovo's Feb. 17 declaration of independence from Serbia as a precedent for their aspirations. Russia opposed Kosovo independence as illegal, while the U.S. and many European countries supported it.
At the United Nations, Russia refused to support a draft resolution backed by the U.S. and France that affirms Georgia's sovereignty over Abkhazia and South Ossetia, where heavy fighting broke out between Georgian and Ossetian forces on Aug. 7, prompting the Russian incursion. Russian officials have said Georgia invaded South Ossetia, while Saakashvili accused Russia of a ``well-planned invasion'' of Georgia.
Russia said its troops are pulling back to South Ossetia and Russia and are observing the cease-fire brokered by France, which holds the rotating European Union presidency. Nogovitsyn said a line of outposts has been established at the edge of a Russian peacekeeping zone that overlaps South Ossetia's administrative border with Georgia, and a second line will be placed on the border itself.
Peacekeeper Posts
Russian officials have said that once peacekeeper posts and checkpoints are in place, the additional troops will return home. Lavrov said Russia will deploy about 500 peacekeepers in the outposts.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is visiting Russia, said he ``understands'' Russia's military response in Georgia. `` We think this was a reaction to a provocation from the Georgian side.''
``We would like once more to express our support for the Russian position in the recent conflict and the situation around Abkhazia and South Ossetia,'' Assad said during a meeting with Medvedev in Sochi. ``We understand the essence of the Russian position. The position is clear and logical.''
To contact the reporters on this story: Lyubov Pronina in Sochi at [email protected]; Helena Bedwell in Tbilisi [email protected]
Last Updated: August 21, 2008 10:47 EDT
Russian Armor Rolls Home, Georgia Sees Wider Control (Update1)
By Lyubov Pronina and Helena Bedwell
Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Russia began withdrawing some tanks, artillery and troops from Georgia, stepping up a military pullout required under a cease-fire, as Georgia's leader said Russia is expanding its ``occupation'' of the country.
All Russian troops and hardware sent into Georgia on Aug. 8 will be pulled back into a peacekeeping zone by the end of the day tomorrow, Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of Russia's General Staff, told reporters today in Moscow.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said that for all Russia's talk of withdrawal, the military ``has actually widened its occupation'' of Georgia. ``It looks like they're relocating from urban areas to different positions that would enable them to control the country's economy,'' Saakashvili said.
Russian troops still hold all entrances to Gori, a major crossroads between east and west Georgia, and won't allow Georgian officials into the city, Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said by phone. Georgian officials have said Russia controls a third of the country.
U.S. Army General John Craddock, top military commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, renewed America's criticism of the pace of Russia's withdrawal. ``There are indications, but not enough to make us believe that it's going as fast as it should,'' he said today in Tbilisi. ``Russia should honor its commitment to withdraw, the sooner the better. It's overdue already.''
Tanks, Trucks
The ``large column'' of hardware that's returning to Russia today includes ``multiple launch systems,'' tanks, armored personnel carriers and trucks, a Russian Defense Ministry official said on customary condition of anonymity.
Russia has defied calls by President George W. Bush and other Western leaders for an immediate withdrawal from Georgia since a cease-fire agreement last week ended five days of fighting. Russian peacekeepers are deployed in South Ossetia under a 1992 agreement with Georgia.
The conflict in Georgia, Russia's first major international military operation since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, has opened a rift with the West and NATO.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Sochi today that Russia won't ``slam the door'' on its relations with NATO.
`Position of Strength'
``We are seeing impulses coming from NATO on reviewing its cooperation with Russia and we view them with regret,'' Foreign Ministry spokesman Igor Lyakin-Frolov said by phone in Moscow today. ``We are interested in cooperation with NATO as much as NATO is interested in working with us.''
Norway's Defense Ministry reported yesterday that Russia decided to ``freeze'' all military cooperation with the alliance.
In its dealings with the West, Russia is ``talking from a position of strength,'' Masha Lipman, a political analyst at the Moscow Carnegie Center, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. ``Russia's not in a mood to compromise, and Russia's demonstrating to the world that there isn't much the West can do, or at least not so far.''
The future status of the pair of separatist enclaves in Georgia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which broke away from Georgia in wars in the early 1990s, has emerged as a bone of contention between Russia and the West.
Abkhaz Appeal
Bush repeated yesterday that the two pro-Russian regions ``must remain a part of Georgia.'' Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Aug. 14 that Russia will support the regions' decisions about their legal status, but stopped short of formally recognizing them.
Abkhazia today renewed its appeal for recognition from Russia, sharpening the international dispute over who controls territory held by Russian forces. Russia's State Duma, the lower house of parliament, may appeal to the country's leaders on Monday to recognize the self-proclaimed republic, Interfax reported today, citing deputy speaker Oleg Morozov, a member of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's United Russia party.
Sergei Mironov, speaker of the upper house, the Federation Council, said ``Russia's political leadership has the will'' to settle the status issues, according to the chamber's press service. Both regions have held referendums in which voters backed independence.
South Ossetia also plans to appeal today for Russian recognition of its independence, the state-run RIA Novosti news service reported.
Kosovo Precedent
Both Abkhazia and South Ossetia have cited Kosovo's Feb. 17 declaration of independence from Serbia as a precedent for their aspirations. Russia opposed Kosovo independence as illegal, while the U.S. and many European countries supported it.
At the United Nations, Russia refused to support a draft resolution backed by the U.S. and France that affirms Georgia's sovereignty over Abkhazia and South Ossetia, where heavy fighting broke out between Georgian and Ossetian forces on Aug. 7, prompting the Russian incursion. Russian officials have said Georgia invaded South Ossetia, while Saakashvili accused Russia of a ``well-planned invasion'' of Georgia.
Russia said its troops are pulling back to South Ossetia and Russia and are observing the cease-fire brokered by France, which holds the rotating European Union presidency. Nogovitsyn said a line of outposts has been established at the edge of a Russian peacekeeping zone that overlaps South Ossetia's administrative border with Georgia, and a second line will be placed on the border itself.
Peacekeeper Posts
Russian officials have said that once peacekeeper posts and checkpoints are in place, the additional troops will return home. Lavrov said Russia will deploy about 500 peacekeepers in the outposts.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is visiting Russia, said he ``understands'' Russia's military response in Georgia. `` We think this was a reaction to a provocation from the Georgian side.''
``We would like once more to express our support for the Russian position in the recent conflict and the situation around Abkhazia and South Ossetia,'' Assad said during a meeting with Medvedev in Sochi. ``We understand the essence of the Russian position. The position is clear and logical.''
To contact the reporters on this story: Lyubov Pronina in Sochi at [email protected]; Helena Bedwell in Tbilisi [email protected]
Last Updated: August 21, 2008 10:47 EDT
how different is that from a Dictator?
