Medvedev Describes Georgia Attack as Russia’s 9/11
September 13, 2008
· President says US backed assault on South Ossetia
· Nato membership ‘would destabilise region’
Georgia’s attack on the breakaway region of South Ossetia was unnecessary and unprovoked and was encouraged by the United States, Russia’s president, Dmitry Medvedev, said in an interview yesterday.
“For Russia, August 8 was like September 11 for the United States,” he told a group of foreign journalists and academics. “I would like to see major lessons from it for the world.”
He made clear that the lessons, as Russia sees them, are that the post-cold war “illusion” that a world with one super power is a safe and predictable place is now over.
The 42-year-old president said George Bush had phoned him shortly after he had ordered Russian forces to drive the Georgians back. “‘You’re a young president with a liberal background. Why do you need this?’ Medvedev quoted Bush as saying. “I told him we had no choice,” he said.
South Ossetia May Intend to Join RF
September 11, 2008
South Ossetia intends to become part of Russia, the republic’s president, Eduard Kokoity, told the international Valdai Club. “We do not intend to make an independent Ossetia,” Kokoity said. Rather, he explained, South Ossetia will unite with North Ossetia. Kokoity stated that the West promised to recognize an independent Tskhinvali, if an independent Ossetia was created from the North, which is part of Russia, and the South.
“Western experts, political scientists, proposed that we convince North Ossetia to secede from Russia. They promised recognition before Kosovo,” Kokoity said. He did not answer a foreign journalist’s question about how long South Ossetia would be able to remain independent, preferring to say that the most important thing for North and South Ossetia is the restoration of historical justice.
“It is more a humanitarian problem than a political problem,” Kokoity said, adding that the unification of North and South Ossetia is the only way to preserve the nation. “I would be very glad if we were part of Russia,” he said.
Later, according to the Interfax information agency, Kokoity contradicted himself and stated that South Ossetia will remain independent. A number of South Ossetian officials have said that the republic will become part of Russia within several years.
Source: Kommersant, September 2008
www.kommersant.com/p-13194/Russia_Georgia_South_Ossetia_conflict/
South Ossetia Does Not Want to Join Russia, says Moscow
September 11, 2008
Leader of breakaway Georgian region backtracks on earlier statement of intent to become part of Russian Federation
South Ossetia does not want to become part of Russia, the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, said today, following a series of contradictory statements from Eduard Kokoity, the South Ossetian leader.
Kokoity was quoted by news agencies as telling a group of foreign policy experts Georgia’s breakaway province would join Russia. He later retracted the comments in an interview with the Russian news agency Interfax.
In trying to clear up matters during a visit to Warsaw, Lavrov later said: “South Ossetia doesn’t wish to join up with anyone.”
S.Ossetian Leader U-turns on Russia Merger
September 11, 2008
Russian news agencies have reported that the leader of South Ossetia said the breakaway Georgian region intends to become part of Russia, but later disavowed the comment and said there was no plan to relinquish independence.
Initial reports from Interfax and RIA-Novosti quoted Eduard Kokoity as saying “Yes, certainly, we will become part of Russia.”
His reported statement Thursday could be seen to undermine the position of the Kremlin, which said it sent in its military to defend the region’s independence.
A subsequent Interfax report quoted Kokoity as reversing that position.
“I have probably been misunderstood,” he was quoted as saying in an interview. “We are not going to relinquish our independence.”
Source: CNN, September 2008
edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/09/11/sossetia.russia.ap/index.html
Russia to Double Its Forces in Two Regions
September 10, 2008
Long Deployment Seen In S. Ossetia, Abkhazia
Russia plans to more than double its military presence in the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and station troops there indefinitely, officials said Tuesday, a day after President Dmitry Medvedev agreed to withdraw Russian forces from undisputed Georgian territory by Oct. 11.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters that Russian troops would remain in the separatist regions “for a long time. Their presence there will be needed at least for the foreseeable future to prevent any relapses of aggressive actions.” Separately, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov was quoted as telling Medvedev in a meeting that South Ossetia and Abkhazia had agreed to host bases with about 3,800 Russian soldiers each.
Before last month’s war with Georgia, the Russian military stationed about 1,000 troops in South Ossetia and 2,500 in Abkhazia as peacekeeping forces. After the war, Russian officials suggested they intended to keep troops in the regions, which it now recognizes as independent states.
Tuesday’s statements were the clearest and most detailed indication of the Kremlin’s plans to date. The timing of the announcement, a day after Medvedev agreed in talks with European leaders to withdraw troops from all Georgian territory outside the disputed territories, seemed intended to emphasize Russia’s determination to support the secession of the two regions despite strong Western objections.
“I hope that, as a minimum, this will stop the Georgian military regime from committing any idiotic actions,” Medvedev told the defense minister in remarks carried by the Interfax news agency.
Alexander Lomaia, secretary of Georgia’s National Security Council, said the Russian announcement went “completely against the spirit and the letter” of the six-point cease-fire agreement that ended hostilities.
The two regions enjoyed de facto autonomy for more than a decade before Russia’s decision to formally recognize their secession. Russia said it was compelled to act after Georgia abandoned peace talks and tried to seize South Ossetia by force on Aug. 7.
Russia has argued that South Ossetia and Abkhazia have a stronger case for independence than Kosovo, the Serbian province that the United States and much of Europe recognized as independent in February over Moscow’s objections.
Western governments have denounced Russia’s moves as an attempt to unilaterally redraw Georgia’s borders.
In Washington on Tuesday, U.S. lawmakers pressed Bush administration officials on whether the United States can realistically impose sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Georgia.
“What kind of leverage do we have that they care about?” Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) asked at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “It strikes me that simply verbal condemnation and diplomatic isolation may not be enough to get the job done.”
Daniel Fried, assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, agreed: “You’re quite right that a couple of communiques . . . do not constitute a lasting lesson.” But he said Russia’s dependence on natural resource exports and its large population leave it “ill-placed to have a hostile relationship with the world.”
Senators raised the possibility of mustering international groups such as the World Trade Organization and the Group of Seven industrialized nations to impose costs on Russia, as well as intensifying pressure on Russian financial markets and foreign investment in the country.
In New York on Tuesday, Russia introduced a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that would bar states from selling arms or providing military training to Georgia. The resolution appears unlikely to be adopted by the 15-nation council, on which the United States holds a veto. The measure highlighted Russia’s opposition to U.S. military support for its neighbor.
Russia’s U.N. ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, sought to promote the diplomatic standing of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, telling reporters that their leaders need to be directly involved in future discussions about the United Nations’ role in the region.
Source: The Washington Post, September 2008
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/09/AR2008090900983.html
Back to School for Ossetian Children
September 1, 2008
Seven of fourteen schools in South Ossetia’s war-torn capital of Tskhinval opened in time for the start of the academic year on Monday. Four hundred workers from Russia’s special construction company, Spetzstroi, worked around the clock to get the schools ready.
The first lesson of the day focuses on the events of the past several weeks and the bloody conflict which forced many of the children and their parents to flee the city. Teachers say it is important for the students to come to terms with the violence and horrors they have been exposed to.
Officials from Russia’s Emergency Ministry will give special classes on dealing with critical situations should the city become the target of another attack. Students will be taught first aid, as well as how to deal with fires and how to take shelter in the event of a bombing.
Russia Promises Military Aid to South Ossetia
August 31, 2008
Russia’s president said Sunday his country will give military aid to the two separatist regions at the center of the war with Georgia — signaling Moscow has no intention of backing down in the face of Western pressure.
Dmitry Medvedev also warned that American domination of world affairs is unacceptable, though he insisted that Russia did not want hostile relations with the United States and other Western nations.
Medvedev’s decision Tuesday to recognize the Georgian breakaway provinces South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent drew condemnation from the West. Though no other countries have followed Russia’s lead, Medvedev reaffirmed the decision on Sunday.
“We have made our decision, and it’s irreversible,” he said in a speech broadcast on Russian television.
The war began Aug. 7 when Georgian forces began heavy shelling of the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, hoping to retake control of the province. Russian forces poured in, pushed the Georgians out in a matter of days and then drove deep into Georgia proper.
European Union leaders planned an emergency meeting Monday to discuss how to deal with an increasingly assertive Russia, but they are not expected to impose sanctions. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has angrily warned Europe not to do America’s bidding and said Moscow does not fear Western sanctions.
Medvedev said Sunday the world would be more stable if the U.S. was less dominant.
“The world must be multi-polar; domination is unacceptable,” he said. “We can’t accept the world order where all decisions are made by one nation, even by such serious and authoritative nation as the United States. Such a world would be unstable and prone to conflicts.”
Still he insisted Russia does not want to distance itself too much from the West.
“Russia doesn’t want to isolate itself,” he said.
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said the EU summit was a sign of a strong global support for Georgia.
“Russia today has found itself more isolated than the Soviet Union ever was,” he said in a televised statement.
Georgia asked the EU and the U.S. to impose sanctions on companies and individuals that do business in Abkhazia and South Ossetia without its permission.
Medvedev said Russia was preparing to sign deals with the two provinces that will detail Moscow’s obligations on economic, military and other assistance to them. He said the agreements will lay the foundation for “allied” relations.
“We will provide all kinds of assistance to these republics,” Medvedev said. “These international agreements will spell out our obligations on providing support and assistance: economic, social, humanitarian and military.”
Medvedev also said Russia will protect what he called its “privileged” interests in the former Soviet nations and defend its citizens and the interests of its businessmen abroad.
He said Russia may consider economic sanctions against unfriendly nations, but would like to avoid it.
Medvedev’s predecessor and mentor Putin cautioned European nations against adopting the tough U.S. stance on Russia and “serving someone else’s political interests.” Speaking to Russian television Sunday, Putin voiced hope that the Europeans will “look out for their own skins.”
Putin, who was speaking during a visit to Russia’s far eastern region, said Russia will diversify its energy exports and expand sales to booming Asian markets. His comments appeared to be a response to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s call in an article published Sunday for Europe to adopt a united energy policy and avoid dependence on Russia.
Russia supplies the EU with about a third of its oil and about two-fifths of its natural gas, and can turn off the tap if it chooses.
Putin said, however, that Russia’s plans to expand energy exports to Asia doesn’t mean that it would cut supplies to European markets.
“We aren’t going to impose any restrictions. We will fulfill our contract obligations,” Putin said. “But we will expand and diversify our opportunities in exporting hydrocarbons. The global economy, and, particularly, the rapidly growing Pacific region, need that.”
Georgia has severed diplomatic ties with Moscow to protest the presence of Russian troops on its territory. It claims, as does the West, that Russia is violating an EU-brokered cease-fire mandating that both sides return their forces to prewar positions. Russia has interpreted one of the agreement’s clauses as allowing them to remain in security zones, now marked by Russian checkpoints.
Georgia appears likely to be hosting tens of thousands of refugees for a grindingly long and expensive time. How much aid the small and struggling country will need to support them is to be among the top issues of the EU summit on Monday.
The United States has sent substantial aid to Georgia following the war, using naval ships and military aircraft. Russian officials speculated that the United States was trying to restore Georgia’s armed forces, which had received massive military aid from Washington in recent years.
Source: The Associated Press, August 2008
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080831/ap_on_re_eu/georgia_russia
South Ossetia, Abkhazia to Recognize Each Other, Ink Military Cooperation Agreements
August 31, 2008
South Ossetia and Abkhazia are willing to seal agreements on recognizing each other and on military cooperation, South Ossetia’s Ambassador to Abkhazia Robert Kokoev told RIA Novosti.
“Any state has allies, and given the world situation, in which we are living, this [signing the agreements] is of high priority. Avoiding it is impossible with the neighbor that we have,” Kokoev reasoned. The republics recognized each other even earlier, but they are willing to seal a new agreement in capacity of the recognized states.
Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev declared August 26 that he inked decrees on recognizing independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Worker Shortage Slows Tskhinvali Repairs
August 31, 2008
A shortage of workers is hampering efforts to rebuild the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinval, according to Russia’s Federal Service for Special Construction. At the moment, the priority for builders and emergency workers is to open schools in time for the start of term on Monday.
Half of the work will be conducted by Russian forces and another part by a Chechen construction company.
Mikhail Tashlyk, a Spetsstroy official said: “Yesterday we met with the Prime Minister of Chechnya. A Chechen construction company will be in charge of construction works in the south of the city. They have adequate experience.”
Around 65 buildings have been already completely restored.
Reports: Russia Plans Military Bases in S.Ossetia, Abkhazia
August 29, 2008
Russia and South Ossetia will sign a military agreement next week allowing Russia to set up a military base in the breakaway region, Tarzan Kokoity, the acting vice-speaker of the South Ossetian parliament, said on August 29.
He said that the agreement was expected to be signed on September 2, Interfax news agency reported.
Interfax quoted an unnamed “military-diplomatic source” in Moscow as saying that Russia was planning to establish three military bases in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
In particular, he said, the plan envisaged bases in Gudauta and Ochamchire in Abkhazia. Georgia has long claimed that the Gudauta military base was in fact never closed down, with the Russian military continuing to use the infrastructure there. As far as Ochamchire is concerned, there is a port in this district of the breakaway region.
The Russian news agency also reported, quoting the source as saying that a Russian military base was planned for Java. The Georgian authorities claim that the Russian side started construction of military infrastructure in this South Ossetian stronghold long before the invasion of Georgia.
Source: Civil.Ge Online Magazine, August 2008