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| Russia Claims Pullback But Forces Move Other Way | |
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| Topic Started: Aug 18 2008, 11:14 PM (97 Views) | |
| Wil | Aug 18 2008, 11:14 PM Post #1 |
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Russia claims pullback but forces move other way A convoy of Russian army APC escorted by Georgian police move on the road from the flashpoint city of Gori to Tbilisi near the village of Savsvebi. Georgia on Friday signed a ceasefire agreement seeking to end its conflict with Russia, as the United States lashed out at Moscow for "bullying" and failing to withdraw its troops from the country.(AFP/Dimitar Dilkoff) AFP AP - 1 hour, 56 minutes ago GORI, Georgia - Russia said Monday it had begun withdrawing from the conflict zone in Georgia, but it held fast to key positions and sent some of its troops in the opposite direction — closer to the Georgian capital. http://news.yahoo.com/ |
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| Wil | Aug 19 2008, 08:24 AM Post #2 |
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/europe/7569357.stm Tuesday, 19 August 2008 07:54 UK Nato holds Georgia crisis summit Nato foreign ministers are gathering in Brussels for an emergency summit to discuss how the alliance should respond to Russia's military action in Georgia. On the eve of the meeting, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the West must deprive Russia of any strategic victory from its assault on Georgia. Tbilisi says Russia is not pulling out, as pledged, but Moscow denies it. Russian and Georgian troops have begun exchanging prisoners at a checkpoint near the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. The exchange is taking place at a Russian checkpoint in Igoeti, about 30km (18 miles) away from the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. The BBC's Helen Fawkes at the scene saw two injured men were being carried on stretchers by Russian soldiers towards two Russian helicopters. "We hope the decisions by Nato will be balanced and that responsible forces in the West will give up the total cynicism that has been so evident [which] is pushing us back to the Cold War era" Dmitry Rogozin Russia's ambassador to Nato The exchange is taking place with what looks like Georgian officials, and in the presence of the International Red Cross, our correspondent adds. The conflict broke out on 7 August when Georgia launched an assault to wrest back control of the Moscow-backed breakaway region of South Ossetia, triggering a counter-offensive by Russian troops who advanced beyond South Ossetia into Georgia's heartland. See map of the region A ceasefire was signed at the weekend, with Moscow pledging to begin pulling back its troops on Monday, but correspondents say there has so far been little sign of any large-scale force withdrawal. Officials in Tbilisi said there was no evidence that Russian troops were leaving Georgian territory, but the Russian defence ministry said the redeployment had begun and would be complete within days. Nato rift As Nato's 26 foreign ministers gather in Brussels, the BBC's Jonathan Marcus says there is disagreement among the alliance as to how to respond, so the focus will be on where members can agree. It is thought that in one camp, Britain, Canada, the US and most Eastern European member states will seek a tough stance on Russia, but most of Western Europe, led by France and Germany, is expected to be more cautious of harming ties with Moscow. Flying to the Nato meeting, Ms Rice told reporters: "We have to deny Russian strategic objectives, which are clearly to undermine Georgia's democracy, to use its military capability to damage and in some cases destroy Georgian infrastructure and to try and weaken the Georgian state." PEACE PLAN * No more use of force * Stop all military actions for good * Free access to humanitarian aid * Georgian troops return to their places of permanent deployment * Russian troops to return to pre-conflict positions * International talks about security in South Ossetia and Abkhazia Our correspondent says the summit, called at the Americans' request, looks set to offer strong support to the government in Tbilisi, stressing Nato's commitment to Georgia's sovereignty. A Nato spokeswoman told AFP news agency: "I think you can expect a strong message to Russia." The alliance is also expected to reiterate its backing for the agreement it reached in Romania back in April that Georgia will one day be offered membership of Nato, without setting any dates. Nato is also expected to offer more humanitarian aid and proposals on how to rebuild Georgian infrastructure damaged in the conflict. Our correspondent says Nato's immediate diplomatic goals are a full Russian withdrawal, an enhanced observer force and, ultimately, a more neutral peacekeeping arrangement. He says high-level contacts between Nato and Russia could be suspended if Russians do not pull back to the positions their peacekeepers occupied before the hostilities. |
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| w8n4him | Aug 19 2008, 10:11 AM Post #3 |
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This is old, but is worth looking at again: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45203 According to captured al-Qaida leaders and documents, the plan is called the "American Hiroshima" and involves the multiple detonation of nuclear weapons already smuggled into the U.S. over the Mexican border with the help of the MS-13 street gang and other organized crime groups. |
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| Wil | Aug 21 2008, 08:34 AM Post #4 |
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Russia blocks Georgia's main port city POTI, Georgia (AP) — Russian forces blocked the only land entrance to Georgia's main oil port city on Thursday, a day before Russia promised to complete a troop pullout from its ex-Soviet neighbor. Armored personnel carriers and troop trucks blocked the bridge to the Black Sea port city of Poti, and Russian forces excavated trenches and set up mortars facing the city. Another group of APCs and trucks were positioned in a nearby wooded area. Although Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has promised that his forces would pull back by Friday, Russian troops appear to be digging in, raising concern about whether Moscow is aiming for a lengthy occupation of its small, pro-Western neighbor. RELIEF AMID THE CONFLICT: N.J. girls safe with dad in Georgia Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili told The Associated Press that Russia was thinning out its presence in some occupied towns but was seizing other strategic spots. He called the Russian moves "some kind of deception game." "(The Russians) are making fun of the world," he declared. An EU-sponsored cease-fire says both Russian and Georgian forces must move back to positions they held before fighting broke out Aug. 7 in Georgia's separatist republic of South Ossetia, which has close ties to Russia. The agreement also says Russian forces can work in a so-called "security zone" that extends more than four miles into Georgia from South Ossetia. Poti is at least 95 miles west of the nearest point in South Ossetia. It's also Georgia's key oil port. Russian tanks, trucks and troops, meanwhile, continued to hold positions around the strategically key city of Gori and in Igoeti, about 30 miles west of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. The warfare in a nation straining to escape Moscow's influence has sent tensions between Moscow and the West to some of their highest levels since the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union. On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Polish counterpart signed a deal to build an American missile defense base in Poland. Last week, a top Russian general warned Poland was risking an attack, possibly a nuclear one, by developing the base. A spokeswoman for Norway's defense ministry said Russia had told its embassy that Moscow plans to "freeze all military cooperation" with NATO and its allies. Later, Russia's Interfax news agency cited Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko as saying Moscow was reconsidering its cooperation with the military alliance. South Ossetia is recognized internationally as part of Georgia, but Russia says the future of the province is up to provincial leaders. President Bush and other Western leaders have stressed that Georgia must retain its current borders. In a sign Russia plans to solidify its control of South Ossetia, Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn said Russia would build 18 checkpoints in the security cordon around the province, with 270 soldiers manning front-line posts. The parliament of another pro-Russia separatist region, Abkhazia, urged Russia on Wednesday to recognize its independence. Fighting flared in both regions before Georgia and Russia agreed to a cease-fire. In Gori, no Russian troops or heavy weaponry could be seen Wednesday evening, including on the bridges and main access points. Earlier in the day, Russian troops had been strictly limiting access to Gori to residents and turning away foreign journalists. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-08-21-russia-georgia_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip |
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