Russia to Georgia: OK, We’ll Leave. But …
Russia announced Wednesday its willingness to withdraw its remaining troops from Georgia if, and only if, some conditions were met: one, bring international peacekeepers in to replace Russian soldiers and, two, Georgia must sign nonaggression pacts with South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Russia announced Wednesday its willingness to withdraw its remaining troops from Georgia if, and only if, some conditions were met: one, bring international peacekeepers in to replace Russian soldiers and, two, Georgia must sign nonaggression pacts with South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Wait, before you go…The Guardian:
Russia will withdraw its troops from the “buffer zone” it has created in Georgia when they are replaced by international peacekeepers and once the Georgian government has signed non-aggression pacts with the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Moscow’s ambassador to London, Yuri Fedotov said today.
Speaking just before the arrival of the US vice-president, Dick Cheney, in Georgia, Fedotov said he “deplored” the severe criticism of Russia voiced by Gordon Brown and David Miliband in recent days. He also claimed to have repeatedly warned Britain’s Foreign Office about the worsening crisis in Georgia in the months leading up to the conflict that broke out on August 7. He said he had been assured that the Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili was “under control” and would not instigate a conflict. The Foreign Office rejected his account.
“I think the European Union is knocking at an open door,” Fedotov said. “I’m not in a position to anticipate the outcome of Monday’s discussion, but if the EU proposes a very clear plan on how to prevent a potential confrontation and further shelling in the territory of South Ossetia … then its not difficult to deploy 200 or 400 people in the zones and to allow Russia to withdraw its personnel. It depends on political will.”
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Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, in Moscow shopping for military hardware, may have been fishing for a discount when he announced that Caracas would join Russia and Nicaragua in recognizing the independence of the breakaway Georgian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The U.S., of course, is a strong supporter and ally of Georgia.
The U.S. military has begun war games in the nation of Georgia, an exercise reportedly planned for months, but which comes just days after Russia announced it will spend half a billion dollars refurbishing its own military bases and strengthening its hold on Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia.
Russia has announced it will spend half a billion dollars upgrading its military presence -- reinforcing bases, strengthening borders -- in Abkhazia, the breakaway region of Georgia that, along with South Ossetia, was a focal point in last year's war between the two countries.
Russian troops are in the process of leaving the controversial buffer zones inside Georgia, allegedly created to protect the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia from Georgian military attacks. The exit, two days ahead of a Friday deadline, will still leave 8,000 Russian troops in the two regions, which Moscow has recognized as independent states.
Russia has formally recognized the independence of the two separatist Georgian states, prompting jeers abroad and cheers in the regions in question Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili rather theatrically compared the declaration to the conduct of Hitler and Stalin.
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