Condoleezza Rice - Dmitry Medvedev - Georgia - NATO - Russia

Russia vetoes UN resolution, sparks ire

Wednesday 20 August 2008

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called Moscow an "outlaw" after it vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding full compliance with the ceasefire in Georgia. Russia has promised full withdrawal by Aug. 22.

Wednesday 20 August 2008

By Reuters (text) / Karina Chabour and Nicholas Rushworth (video)

GORI, Georgia, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Russian troops will pull back from Georgia's heartland by the end of this week, the Kremlin said Tuesday, but NATO said it was freezing contacts with Moscow until all Russian forces were out of the country.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice harshly criticized Moscow as the "loser" in the confrontation with its smaller neighbor and accused Russia of "wanton destruction of civilian infrastructure."

Western powers, led by the United States, have called for an immediate withdrawal of Russian troops under a cease-fire plan that ended the two countries' short war over the rebel Georgian province of South Ossetia.

NATO ministers, meeting in emergency session in Brussels, backed this demand by suspending regular contacts with Russia. But they did not announce moves to speed up Georgian accession to the Western military alliance, as Tbilisi had hoped.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a news conference NATO's response to the conflict was biased, and accused NATO of siding with a "criminal regime" in Tbilisi.

Rice, in an interview with CBS News in Brussels where she attended a NATO meeting on the crisis, said Russia was isolating itself.

"It's becoming more and more the outlaw in this conflict," she said. "They intend and probably still do intend to strangle Georgia and its economy."

The tensions were mirrored at the United Nations, where Western powers pressed the Security Council to adopt a resolution calling for an immediate Russian withdrawal. Moscow, which holds veto power, said it could not support it.

AUG. 22 DATE SET

Earlier, the Kremlin quoted Russian President Dmitry Medvedev as saying that Russian forces would pull back by Aug. 22 to the positions set out under the French-brokered cease-fire.

That would require most of them to withdraw to Russia or South Ossetia, but parts of the force, under the terms of the deal, will remain in a buffer zone around the breakaway region.

"By 22 August ... a part of the peacekeepers will be pulled back to the temporary security zone," a Kremlin statement quoted Medvedev as telling French President Nicolas Sarkozy in a telephone conversation.

"The remaining contingent that was used to reinforce the peacekeepers will be pulled back to the territory of South Ossetia and to Russia," the statement said.

Medvedev told Sarkozy he agreed to the presence of observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in the buffer zone, Sarkozy's office said in a separate statement.

U.S. officials said they had not seen any substantial withdrawal of Russian troops so far.

In Gori, a strategic town on Georgia's main east-west highway, six Russian armoured personnel carriers, three tanks and two other vehicles started their engines and drove out through the sun-scorched countryside, kicking up clouds of dust.

"This is one of the first units to be pulled out," said an official from Russia's Foreign Ministry, which arranged for reporters to watch the column leave.

But close by, Russian troops could be seen digging trenches near artillery positions. Shirtless paratroopers sunbathed in the street on civilian sofas and couches.

Later Tuesday a Reuters reporter, travelling on the main road used by Russian troops to enter Georgia, saw little traffic heading out of Georgia and no evidence of a large-scale pullout.

GEORGIA SEES NO PULLOUT

"The Russians time and again move their tanks to Tskhinvali (the South Ossetian capital) from Gori and then back again. I categorically deny this amounts to a withdrawal," said Shota Utiashvili, an official at Georgia's Interior Ministry.

Conflict erupted over separatist South Ossetia when Georgia sent in its army to try to take back the pro-Moscow province on Aug. 7-8, provoking a huge counter-attack from Russia.

Stepping up Russian pressure on Tbilisi, Moscow closed its land border with Georgia to citizens who are not from the CIS, a grouping of former Soviet states that Georgia's parliament voted last week to leave.

The head of Russia's main domestic FSB spy service, Alexander Bortnikov, ordered extra security to foil what he said was a plan by Georgian security to carry out "terrorist acts" inside Russia. Georgia dismissed the accusation as "nonsense."

Air, rail and sea links between Russia and its former Soviet vassal have already been cut. The virtual blockade has hurt Georgia's economy, which depends heavily on Russia.

Western powers have condemned Russia's response as disproportionate, while Moscow says it is necessary to protect Russian citizens and Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia and prevent Georgia from carrying out "genocide."

Saakashvili accuses Russia of trying to sabotage his leadership and Georgian democracy.

But Russia's Lavrov said restrictions imposed by Saakashvili's government on Russian news media and Internet sites cast doubt on Georgia's right to call itself a democracy.

He said Russia had no plans to occupy Georgia or annex parts of its territory but Russian checkpoints now block the main east-west highway, a vital trade route that links Tbilisi with Turkey and Georgia's Black Sea ports. Russian soldiers have also moved into towns in western Georgia, controlling traffic and movement.

Condoleezza Rice - Dmitry Medvedev - Georgia - NATO - Russia

[8] reactions :

23/08/2008 18:59:44 Alert a moderator

6 point plan Medvedev/Sarkozy

By Andrey - Russia. N/Novgorod

the French diplomats are conserned about Russians' slow withdrowal stated in the Medvedev/Sarkozy seasefire plan. Why not adopt the above mentioned plan and continue working further (it is said the withdrowal is a constituent part of the plan)
20/08/2008 17:44:08 Alert a moderator

Russian and Georgia at it again

By Guy - USA NJ

How many years must Russia be allowed to steal from Georgia? Yes, let's do that with our neighbors too, I mean it is nice to go over the house next door and say, we are commandeering your living room, now leave. Oh, we will also be issuing passports to your citizens. What a mess, and not likely to end soon as Putin is still like an old KGB man, and Medvedev is not yet off the puppet strings. Must be like heroin. They just can't get off of it. Poor people of Georgia are the ones to suffer for the near term, however, hopefully, about the time Russia's government thinks they have this situation under control, NATO will affirmatively step up and assert that stealing land is not allowed in this century. The days of Russian nonsense of this nature are surely numbered. Let us all hope.
20/08/2008 11:03:58 Alert a moderator

Retaliation

By Abdulrahman - Saudi Arabia

The action of Russia over Georgia is just over acting. Medvedev said they will defend all Russians at all cost. Some of the first casualty in South Ossetia are South Ossetians who has Russian passport because Russia gave them Russian passport, good move isnt it. They do it to Georgians because it is small and vulnerable country. Why not try to Poland or Ukraine. Their ego was hurt when Kosovo proclaimed independence from Serbia.
Anyway, we have to think always that that is the character of Russians, they would like to conquer the world, look what happen after the fall of Tsar, Soviet conquered all his neighbors. They would like to do that also to Afghanistan and if so happen they succeed on conquiring Afghanistan, they continue to Pakistan, because they want door also in Indian ocean. Luckily it doesnt happen.
20/08/2008 06:12:25 Alert a moderator

Blame the US!

By zox - Romania

Us did it with Iraq.US has his way of attacking any country and make it look like they are helping (hahah?!). Georgia attacked russian people, Russia defended. US has not yet left Iraq, why should Russia leave?US&NATO a bunch of retards who dont play fair. Hopefully Russia will ignore them and do it their way or at least show US how unprofessional they really are. I have nothing against US in general, I just hate how they forget about their own action, selling guns, supporting talibans, hungry for oil and nowadays turning into fascism.. so.. US.. once you're clean you can actually blame others,but until then.. shut up, will ya?
20/08/2008 05:07:09 Alert a moderator

The loser is Saakashivili Saddam

By John -

The only person to blame in the conflit is the killer Saakashivili how bombed his so call people in the middle of the night. He went to Iraq not to support democracy, but to seek protection from the US for is crazyness.Saakashvili is the most stupid leader I have ever seen on TV. He is out of topic and taking about everything but not the subject. Anytime he show up on CNN I just switch channel. Only stupid people can listen to saakashvili.
20/08/2008 02:42:56 Alert a moderator

Typical Russian Propaganda

By Anonyme - Romania

Ok Andrey, the world is used to typical Russian propaganda that's really full wishful thinking and non-truths. You're just perpetuating the baseless justification Russia is known for whenever it chooses to behave like criminal thugs. What else is new??
19/08/2008 21:12:17 Alert a moderator

Love Affair With A Lunatic

By longwalksinparis.blogspot.com - chicago

Can anyone please explain the strange love affair between the West and the lunatic who runs Tbilisi ? Who shot first should be much more worrisome than who shot next. Europe and the US should not let its foreign policy be held captive by this new cowboy.
19/08/2008 19:47:11 Alert a moderator

George W. Bush has 26 thieves all NATO members, not 40 thieves

By K. V. Tellis - Canada, Mississauga

This news on Russia is a bit mixed up, because Ali Baba only had 40 thieves, while George W. Bush only has 26, and all are members of NATO.. Now the point is is this Cabal going to tell the world what to do or will it bomb Russia like it did SERBIA? But of course in an alliance like NATO, the leaders are all eunuchs in the Court of the Mandarin George W. Bush. As NATO leaders are about it, tell them if they threaten Russian, they should at the very least have their training pants on, before doing so. In any case their training pants are liable to be dirty after the first brush with Russia. By the way tell de Hoop Scheffer that it's no easy task the he thinks he has now, because this not Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, but Russian President Dimitry Medvedev who will castrate if he ever catches them.