In Georgia and Russia, a Perfect Brew for a Blowup
From the NY Times a News Analysis done by By C. J. CHIVERS
Published: August 10, 2008
As the bloody military mismatch between Russia and Georgia unfolded over the past three days, even the main players were surprised by how quickly small border skirmishes slipped into a conflict that threatened the Georgian government and perhaps the country itself…more at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/11/world/europe/11ticktock.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
..and from AP
Russia expands Georgia blitz, deploys ships
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By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 11, 2008
Filed at 1:35 a.m. ET
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Russia and Georgia clashed on land and at sea Sunday despite a Georgian cease-fire offer and claim of withdrawal from the separatist province of South Ossetia, officials from both countries said.
Georgian officials said Russian planes bombed the Georgian capital’s outskirts and Russian tanks moved from South Ossetia into Georgian territory, heading toward a strategic city before being turned back.
Russian jets hit communications facilities just west of Tbilisi early Monday and also targeted the Black Sea port of Poti, said Georgia’s Interior Ministry spokesman, Shota Utiashvili. He said that Russian raids inflicted no casualties.
A Russian general said Georgian forces directed heavy fire at positions around Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, early Monday even though Georgia had claimed to be withdrawing from the shattered city and called for a cease-fire.
”Active fighting has been going on in several zones,” the Interfax news agency quoted Maj. Gen. Marat Kulakhmetov as saying. He is commander of the Russian peacekeeping contingent that has been in South Ossetia since 1992.
Russia also claimed to have sunk a Georgian boat that tried to attack Russian vessels in the Black Sea.
Russia appears determined to subdue diminutive, U.S.-backed Georgia despite international condemnation. Russia ignored a wave of calls to observe Georgia’s cease-fire, saying it must first be assured that Georgian troops had indeed pulled back from South Ossetia.
President Bush on Monday sharply criticized Moscow’s harsh military crackdown, saying the violence is unacceptable and Russia’s response is disproportionate.
Bush, in an interview with NBC Sports, said, ”I’ve expressed my grave concern about the disproportionate response of Russia and that we strongly condemn the bombing outside of South Ossetia.” He said he did so directly to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and by phone to Russian President Dmitri Medvedev.
…more at http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Georgia-South-Ossetia.html
From UK Times at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4499726.ece
From The Times
August 11, 2008
Georgia: Vladimir Putin leads from front to send US a bullish message
Mark Franchetti in Moscow
…there is much more at stake than just the future of two tiny breakaway regions. Mikhail Saakashvili, the pro-Western Georgian President who came to power five years ago, is close to America and wants his tiny country to join Nato.
And fron China
After the previous three rounds of talks, the council did not approve the draft as well as its revised versions that included a call for the parties to refrain from the use of violence.
During Sunday’s meeting, U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin traded accusations over the conflict, which the UN said has spread to Abkhazia, another rebel enclave inside Georgia.
Citing a telephone call between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his U.S. counterpart Condoleezza Rice, Khalilzad accused Russia of attempting a regime change in Georgia.
“This is completely unacceptable and crosses the line,” Khalilzad said.
He also said through its military offensive against Georgia, Russia was trying to wage “terror” against the local people.
“We must condemn Russia’s military assault on the sovereign state of Georgia … including the targeting of civilians and the campaign of terror against the Georgian population,” he said.
Churkin vehemently denied the “terror” charge. “This is completely unacceptable, especially from the lips of a representative of a country whose actions we are aware of in Iraq, Afghanistan and Serbia,” he retorted.
Khalilzad said he was preparing a draft resolution that would urge the council to call for an immediate cease-fire and condemn Russia.
In a briefing to the council at Saturday’s meeting, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Edmond Mulet said hostilities are continuing in Georgia and there have been a “substantial number of casualties, refugees and destruction. “
Citing reports from UN peacekeepers in the region, Mulet expressed concerns that the conflict appeared to be spreading into Abkhazia.
Since late Thursday, the council has been trying to adopt a statement that would call on the warring parties in Georgia to cease violence immediately.
Belgian UN Ambassador Jan Grauls, the council’s president this month, told reporters on Saturday it would be nearly impossible for the council to take any actions at the moment.
“Regrettably I have come to the conclusion that it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to find common ground within the council on a draft statement to the press,” Grauls said.
South Ossetia declared independence from Georgia in the early 1990s and was governed by a secessionist government since then although its independence has not been internationally recognized.
On Friday, Georgian troops began a military action against South Ossetia’s forces in an attempt to re-establish control over the region. In response, Russian troops moved into the region to fight the Georgian forces. Its warplanes also bombed the region.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-08/11/content_9155666.htm
And finally a report of the close door meeting at the UN last week
UNSC holds emergency meeting on South Ossetia conflict
www.chinaview.cn 2008-08-08 15:10:10 Print
UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) — The UN Security Council began late Thursday night an emergency meeting at the request of Russia to discuss the escalating conflict in Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia.
Members of the 15-member body first huddled behind closed doors to discuss a Russia-drafted statement expressing “concern at the escalation of violence” before going into a public meeting that continued into the wee hours of Friday morning.
The draft also called on “the parties to cease bloodshed without delay and renounce the use of force.”
Diplomats said that during the closed-door consultations, the council failed to reach an agreement on the Russian text because some council members, including the United States, opposed the part calling on the parties to “renounce the use of force.”
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-08/08/content_9046344.htm
Oil and its pipelines dictates a lot of the geopolitical shaking again, it is really the time to accept the unavoidable imperative of finding alternative energy consumption and production,
Snowy
