The Georgian crisis continues today with accusations being hurled
about mainly by the Russians. They try to give ammunition to the
appeasers in the west by giving ammunition to the anti-American fifth
columnists here.
And in Eastern Eurfope the presidents of Finland Poland and the Czech
Republic are divided as to tactics with - in eac case - the
presidents taking a more robust stance against Russia.
xxxxxxxxxxx cs
===========================
EU OBSERVER 29.8.08
1. EU sanctions would be 'grave mistake,' Russia says
RENATA GOLDIROVA
BRUSSELS - As the European Union considers imposing sanctions
against Russia over its recognition of independence for Georgia's
rebel regions, Moscow has said that any punitive measures would be a
"grave mistake," harming the 27-nation bloc as much as Russia itself.
"First of all, I highly doubt that [sanctions] might ever happen, but
hypothetically speaking, this would be to the detriment of the
European Union as much, if not more, than to Russia," Russia's
ambassador to the EU Vladimir Chizhov said on Thursday (28 August).
The comment comes shortly ahead of an emergency EU summit scheduled
for 1 September in order to reassess the union's ties with Moscow in
the face of its actions in the South Caucasus.
France, the current EU president, has warned that "sanctions are
being considered and many other means as well" - words that were
quickly denounced by Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, who
said the idea showed the workings of a "sick imagination."
In practice, just a few countries - mainly the UK, Sweden, Poland and
three Baltic EU states - are pushing for a tough line against Russia.
Even if achieved, punitive measures could be limited to no more than
suspension of visa-free travel talks or postponement of negotiations
on a new EU-Russia treaty, currently scheduled for 16 September, EU
diplomats said.
"I can only express the wish that European leaders will be able to
rise above the emotions of the day and consider seriously and without
prejudice the perspectives of strategic partnership with their
important partner, the Russian Federation," ambassador Chizhov told
journalists in Brussels.
"We need the new agreement as much as the EU does - not less, not
more," he concluded.
The French EU presidency itself will not table punitive measures,
while Germany - which is heavily reliant on Russian oil and gas -
also has little appetite for punishing Moscow.
"We are strongly committed to keeping open channels to Russia. We
have to look at who will be hurt by sanctions, what will be the costs
and benefits," one senior German official was cited as saying by the
Financial Times.
German Socialist MEP Martin Schulz told Financial Times Deutschland:
"[Sanctions] would play into the hands of radical elements in Moscow,
who want an escalation of the conflict."
An isolated Russia?
Meanwhile, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin - widely seen as the
man driving Kremlin policy - has accused Washington of playing a role
in the current conflict in Georgia to benefit one of the US
presidential candidates.
"The suspicion arises that someone in the United States especially
created this conflict with the aim of making the situation more tense
and creating a competitive advantage for one of the candidates
fighting for the post of US president," Mr Putin said in a CNN
interview on Thursday (28 August).
He explained that US citizens had been present in the area during
hostilities, following direct orders from Washington, which also
trained and supplied the Georgian army.
The White House dismissed the allegations by describing them as "not
rational" and "patently false."
Another round of verbal attacks took place at the United Nations last
night (28 August), with Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin accusing
the US of hypocrisy. He cited the US-led invasion of Iraq and
Kosovo's unilateral secession from Serbia, backed by major Western
powers, as examples.
"I would like to ask the distinguished representative of the United
States [about] weapons of mass destruction. Have you found them yet
in Iraq or are you still looking for them?" Mr Churkin said,
according to Reuters.
So far, no country has followed Russia in recognising South Ossetia
and Abkhazia as independent states, although Moscow's Ambassador to
the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, said he expected a "number of countries" to
do so, with Belarus suggesting it may take the step before the weekend.
Virtual integrity
Mr Chizhov referred to Georgia's territorial integrity as a "virtual
concept" rather than reality, even arguing that Russia's moves are
justified under the peace plan brokered two weeks ago by French
leader Nicolas Sarkozy - a deal seen as too vague and too Russia-
friendly.
"Let me refer to the six-point plan of Presidents Medvedev and
Sarkozy, which does not include a reference of territorial integrity
and it's not a mistake ... it was deliberate I would say," the
Russian diplomat said.
But Russia has failed to win backing from its allies within the
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, comprising China, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, whose leaders limited
themselves to supporting Russia's "active role in promoting peace" in
the post-conflict phase.
=============AND --->
2. Spats over who gets to go to EU summit break out in Poland, Finland
LEIGH PHILLIPS
The emergency European summit called to tackle the Georgian crisis
and forge a common European position on the issue is itself causing
divisions - but over who gets to go to the extraordinary meeting of
EU leaders.
The Polish prime minister and president are scrapping over who gets
to attend the meeting, while the decision by the Finnish president to
go has pushed aside the country's foreign minister, Alexander Stubb,
who is also the current chair of the Organisation of Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Meanwhile, in the Czech Republic, although there is no tussle over
who gets to attend, President Vaclav Klaus nonetheless has an
opposing view to his prime minister, Mirek Topolánek, as to who is
responsible for the Georgian conflict.
Conservative Polish president Lech Kaczynski has demanded he be the
one to head to Brussels for the summit, rather than the more liberal
prime minister, Donald Tusk.
Speaking on Polish radio, the president's aide, Piotr Kownacki, on
Thursday (28 August) said: " If the president is in the Polish
delegation, it is obvious that he lead it due to his office,"
according to AFP.
The previous day, the deputy prime minister, Grzegorz Schetyna, had
said that if the president attended, it "was not going to help
matters," the French news agency also reported.
Moreover, the two leaders have a slightly differing perspective on
the crisis. The president has attacked the peace plan between Russia
and Georgia negotiated by French President Nicholas Sarkozy for
making no mention of Georgia's right to territorial integrity.
Mr Tusk, for his part, has not criticised the plan, although he hopes
to see a strong position taken by the EU on Russia's actions.
Mssrs Tusk and Kaczynski are to meet on Friday to attempt to resolve
the disagreement.
Over in Finland, President Tarja Halonen has announced she is to
attend the summit, meaning that foreign minister Alexander Stubb
would have to wait outside while the president and prime minister
talk with other EU leaders.
The bumping of the foreign minister this time is causing a bit of a
headache for the delegation, as Mr Stubb is also the current
chairperson of the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE), with which the EU has been closely working on the Georgian
crisis. The foreign minister and former MEP also played a key role in
the negotiation of the Sarkozy peace plan as chair of the OSCE.
President Halonen's chief of staff said on Wednesday that the
"starting point" is that the OSCE chairperson will attend and that
Finland would have a third seat in the meeting, instead of the normal
two, the Helsingin Sanomat reported.
However, Brussels officials have all said that a third seat is
"impossible," according to the Finnish daily.
Mr Stubb may yet be invited to attend separately in his capacity of
OSCE chair, but in which case, he would only be able to participate
for the length of his presentation.
Elsewhere, although Czech President Vaclav Klaus has been invited, he
will not be heading to the summit, with prime minister Mirek
Topolánek attending instead, alongside the foreign minister, Karel
Schwarzenberg.
The Czech leaders have diametrically opposed views on the conflict,
with President Klaus of the opinion that Georgia is responsible for
starting the war, while the prime minister blames Russia.
Mr Schwarzenberg said that such differences are nothing unusual in
the government of a democratic state. The main thing, he said, is
that it is the government that determines foreign policy, reports the
Prague Post.
====================
BBC ONLINE 29.8.08
US rejects 'false' Russia claim
The US has dismissed as "patently false" accusations by Russia that
it helped provoke the conflict in Georgia for domestic political
reasons.
The White House said Russia would face consequences for its
continuing military presence in Georgia.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told CNN that US citizens had
been in the conflict zone of South Ossetia.
He said his defence officials had told him the provocation was to
benefit one of the US presidential candidates.
(- - - - recap of recent events! )
Diplomatic wrangling
Mr Putin said in the US television network interview: "The fact is
that US citizens were indeed in the area in conflict during the
hostilities. [Is he alleging that US military were there? -cs]
"It should be admitted that they would do so only following direct
orders from their leaders."
Mr Putin added: "The American side in effect armed and trained the
Georgian army. [Nobody disputes this. It’s a perfectly normal thing
to do! -cs]
"Why... seek a difficult compromise solution in the peacekeeping
process? It is easier to arm one of the sides and provoke it into
killing another side. And the job is done. [What about the previous
Russian incursion into neighbouring Chechnya which virtually
annihilated that country? -cs]
"The suspicion arises that someone in the United States especially
created this conflict with the aim of making the situation more tense
and creating a competitive advantage for one of the candidates
fighting for the post of US president," he said.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino rejected the allegation.
"To suggest that the United States orchestrated this on behalf of a
political candidate - it sounds not rational," she said.
"Those claims first and foremost are patently false, but it also
sounds like his defence officials who said they believed this to be
true are giving him really bad advice."
Diplomatic wrangling over Russia's actions in Georgia continued on
Thursday with the Georgian parliament urging its government to cut
diplomatic ties with Moscow.
Earlier, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner suggested some EU
countries were considering sanctions against Russia.
Mr Kouchner insisted France had made no proposals for sanctions
itself but, as current president of the EU, would aim to get
consensus among all 27 countries of the bloc if sanctions were
envisaged.
France has called an emergency EU summit on Monday to reassess
relations with Russia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described talk of sanctions as
the working of "a sick imagination".
Such talk was an emotional response that demonstrated Western
confusion over the situation, he said.
The US has said it is now considering scrapping a US-Russia civilian
nuclear co-operation pact in response to the conflict.
The White House has also announced that up to $5.75m (£3.1m) will be
freed to help Georgia meet "unexpected and urgent refugee and
migration needs".
'Specious'
Late on Thursday, the UN held an open meeting to discuss the
situation in Georgia but it descended into an angry exchange.
Russian ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, launched a scathing
attack on some council members.
Russia's Vitaly Churkin launched an angry attack in the UN
He questioned their criticism of the use of force, asking the US
representative: "Did you find any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq?"
He compared council members' defence of the territorial integrity of
states with what he said was a failure to do so for Serbia over Kosovo.
US deputy ambassador Alejandro Wolff said such "specious comparisons
cannot detract from the facts before us".
He said Russia had invaded Georgia and was "dismembering" Georgia.
Irakli Alasania, Georgia's ambassador to the UN, said Russia's
actions were "all pre-planned".
He called for swift humanitarian aid and a UN presence in upper
Abkhazia.
Requests for representatives of South Ossetia and Abkhazia to
participate in the formal council meeting were rejected.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
South Ossetia
Population: About 70,000 (before recent conflict)
Capital: Tskhinvali
President: Eduard Kokoity
Abkhazia
Population: About 250,000 (2003)
Capital: Sukhumi
President: Sergei Bagapsh
====================
about mainly by the Russians. They try to give ammunition to the
appeasers in the west by giving ammunition to the anti-American fifth
columnists here.
And in Eastern Eurfope the presidents of Finland Poland and the Czech
Republic are divided as to tactics with - in eac case - the
presidents taking a more robust stance against Russia.
xxxxxxxxxxx cs
===========================
EU OBSERVER 29.8.08
1. EU sanctions would be 'grave mistake,' Russia says
RENATA GOLDIROVA
BRUSSELS - As the European Union considers imposing sanctions
against Russia over its recognition of independence for Georgia's
rebel regions, Moscow has said that any punitive measures would be a
"grave mistake," harming the 27-nation bloc as much as Russia itself.
"First of all, I highly doubt that [sanctions] might ever happen, but
hypothetically speaking, this would be to the detriment of the
European Union as much, if not more, than to Russia," Russia's
ambassador to the EU Vladimir Chizhov said on Thursday (28 August).
The comment comes shortly ahead of an emergency EU summit scheduled
for 1 September in order to reassess the union's ties with Moscow in
the face of its actions in the South Caucasus.
France, the current EU president, has warned that "sanctions are
being considered and many other means as well" - words that were
quickly denounced by Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, who
said the idea showed the workings of a "sick imagination."
In practice, just a few countries - mainly the UK, Sweden, Poland and
three Baltic EU states - are pushing for a tough line against Russia.
Even if achieved, punitive measures could be limited to no more than
suspension of visa-free travel talks or postponement of negotiations
on a new EU-Russia treaty, currently scheduled for 16 September, EU
diplomats said.
"I can only express the wish that European leaders will be able to
rise above the emotions of the day and consider seriously and without
prejudice the perspectives of strategic partnership with their
important partner, the Russian Federation," ambassador Chizhov told
journalists in Brussels.
"We need the new agreement as much as the EU does - not less, not
more," he concluded.
The French EU presidency itself will not table punitive measures,
while Germany - which is heavily reliant on Russian oil and gas -
also has little appetite for punishing Moscow.
"We are strongly committed to keeping open channels to Russia. We
have to look at who will be hurt by sanctions, what will be the costs
and benefits," one senior German official was cited as saying by the
Financial Times.
German Socialist MEP Martin Schulz told Financial Times Deutschland:
"[Sanctions] would play into the hands of radical elements in Moscow,
who want an escalation of the conflict."
An isolated Russia?
Meanwhile, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin - widely seen as the
man driving Kremlin policy - has accused Washington of playing a role
in the current conflict in Georgia to benefit one of the US
presidential candidates.
"The suspicion arises that someone in the United States especially
created this conflict with the aim of making the situation more tense
and creating a competitive advantage for one of the candidates
fighting for the post of US president," Mr Putin said in a CNN
interview on Thursday (28 August).
He explained that US citizens had been present in the area during
hostilities, following direct orders from Washington, which also
trained and supplied the Georgian army.
The White House dismissed the allegations by describing them as "not
rational" and "patently false."
Another round of verbal attacks took place at the United Nations last
night (28 August), with Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin accusing
the US of hypocrisy. He cited the US-led invasion of Iraq and
Kosovo's unilateral secession from Serbia, backed by major Western
powers, as examples.
"I would like to ask the distinguished representative of the United
States [about] weapons of mass destruction. Have you found them yet
in Iraq or are you still looking for them?" Mr Churkin said,
according to Reuters.
So far, no country has followed Russia in recognising South Ossetia
and Abkhazia as independent states, although Moscow's Ambassador to
the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, said he expected a "number of countries" to
do so, with Belarus suggesting it may take the step before the weekend.
Virtual integrity
Mr Chizhov referred to Georgia's territorial integrity as a "virtual
concept" rather than reality, even arguing that Russia's moves are
justified under the peace plan brokered two weeks ago by French
leader Nicolas Sarkozy - a deal seen as too vague and too Russia-
friendly.
"Let me refer to the six-point plan of Presidents Medvedev and
Sarkozy, which does not include a reference of territorial integrity
and it's not a mistake ... it was deliberate I would say," the
Russian diplomat said.
But Russia has failed to win backing from its allies within the
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, comprising China, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, whose leaders limited
themselves to supporting Russia's "active role in promoting peace" in
the post-conflict phase.
=============AND --->
2. Spats over who gets to go to EU summit break out in Poland, Finland
LEIGH PHILLIPS
The emergency European summit called to tackle the Georgian crisis
and forge a common European position on the issue is itself causing
divisions - but over who gets to go to the extraordinary meeting of
EU leaders.
The Polish prime minister and president are scrapping over who gets
to attend the meeting, while the decision by the Finnish president to
go has pushed aside the country's foreign minister, Alexander Stubb,
who is also the current chair of the Organisation of Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Meanwhile, in the Czech Republic, although there is no tussle over
who gets to attend, President Vaclav Klaus nonetheless has an
opposing view to his prime minister, Mirek Topolánek, as to who is
responsible for the Georgian conflict.
Conservative Polish president Lech Kaczynski has demanded he be the
one to head to Brussels for the summit, rather than the more liberal
prime minister, Donald Tusk.
Speaking on Polish radio, the president's aide, Piotr Kownacki, on
Thursday (28 August) said: " If the president is in the Polish
delegation, it is obvious that he lead it due to his office,"
according to AFP.
The previous day, the deputy prime minister, Grzegorz Schetyna, had
said that if the president attended, it "was not going to help
matters," the French news agency also reported.
Moreover, the two leaders have a slightly differing perspective on
the crisis. The president has attacked the peace plan between Russia
and Georgia negotiated by French President Nicholas Sarkozy for
making no mention of Georgia's right to territorial integrity.
Mr Tusk, for his part, has not criticised the plan, although he hopes
to see a strong position taken by the EU on Russia's actions.
Mssrs Tusk and Kaczynski are to meet on Friday to attempt to resolve
the disagreement.
Over in Finland, President Tarja Halonen has announced she is to
attend the summit, meaning that foreign minister Alexander Stubb
would have to wait outside while the president and prime minister
talk with other EU leaders.
The bumping of the foreign minister this time is causing a bit of a
headache for the delegation, as Mr Stubb is also the current
chairperson of the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE), with which the EU has been closely working on the Georgian
crisis. The foreign minister and former MEP also played a key role in
the negotiation of the Sarkozy peace plan as chair of the OSCE.
President Halonen's chief of staff said on Wednesday that the
"starting point" is that the OSCE chairperson will attend and that
Finland would have a third seat in the meeting, instead of the normal
two, the Helsingin Sanomat reported.
However, Brussels officials have all said that a third seat is
"impossible," according to the Finnish daily.
Mr Stubb may yet be invited to attend separately in his capacity of
OSCE chair, but in which case, he would only be able to participate
for the length of his presentation.
Elsewhere, although Czech President Vaclav Klaus has been invited, he
will not be heading to the summit, with prime minister Mirek
Topolánek attending instead, alongside the foreign minister, Karel
Schwarzenberg.
The Czech leaders have diametrically opposed views on the conflict,
with President Klaus of the opinion that Georgia is responsible for
starting the war, while the prime minister blames Russia.
Mr Schwarzenberg said that such differences are nothing unusual in
the government of a democratic state. The main thing, he said, is
that it is the government that determines foreign policy, reports the
Prague Post.
====================
BBC ONLINE 29.8.08
US rejects 'false' Russia claim
The US has dismissed as "patently false" accusations by Russia that
it helped provoke the conflict in Georgia for domestic political
reasons.
The White House said Russia would face consequences for its
continuing military presence in Georgia.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told CNN that US citizens had
been in the conflict zone of South Ossetia.
He said his defence officials had told him the provocation was to
benefit one of the US presidential candidates.
(- - - - recap of recent events! )
Diplomatic wrangling
Mr Putin said in the US television network interview: "The fact is
that US citizens were indeed in the area in conflict during the
hostilities. [Is he alleging that US military were there? -cs]
"It should be admitted that they would do so only following direct
orders from their leaders."
Mr Putin added: "The American side in effect armed and trained the
Georgian army. [Nobody disputes this. It’s a perfectly normal thing
to do! -cs]
"Why... seek a difficult compromise solution in the peacekeeping
process? It is easier to arm one of the sides and provoke it into
killing another side. And the job is done. [What about the previous
Russian incursion into neighbouring Chechnya which virtually
annihilated that country? -cs]
"The suspicion arises that someone in the United States especially
created this conflict with the aim of making the situation more tense
and creating a competitive advantage for one of the candidates
fighting for the post of US president," he said.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino rejected the allegation.
"To suggest that the United States orchestrated this on behalf of a
political candidate - it sounds not rational," she said.
"Those claims first and foremost are patently false, but it also
sounds like his defence officials who said they believed this to be
true are giving him really bad advice."
Diplomatic wrangling over Russia's actions in Georgia continued on
Thursday with the Georgian parliament urging its government to cut
diplomatic ties with Moscow.
Earlier, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner suggested some EU
countries were considering sanctions against Russia.
Mr Kouchner insisted France had made no proposals for sanctions
itself but, as current president of the EU, would aim to get
consensus among all 27 countries of the bloc if sanctions were
envisaged.
France has called an emergency EU summit on Monday to reassess
relations with Russia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described talk of sanctions as
the working of "a sick imagination".
Such talk was an emotional response that demonstrated Western
confusion over the situation, he said.
The US has said it is now considering scrapping a US-Russia civilian
nuclear co-operation pact in response to the conflict.
The White House has also announced that up to $5.75m (£3.1m) will be
freed to help Georgia meet "unexpected and urgent refugee and
migration needs".
'Specious'
Late on Thursday, the UN held an open meeting to discuss the
situation in Georgia but it descended into an angry exchange.
Russian ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, launched a scathing
attack on some council members.
Russia's Vitaly Churkin launched an angry attack in the UN
He questioned their criticism of the use of force, asking the US
representative: "Did you find any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq?"
He compared council members' defence of the territorial integrity of
states with what he said was a failure to do so for Serbia over Kosovo.
US deputy ambassador Alejandro Wolff said such "specious comparisons
cannot detract from the facts before us".
He said Russia had invaded Georgia and was "dismembering" Georgia.
Irakli Alasania, Georgia's ambassador to the UN, said Russia's
actions were "all pre-planned".
He called for swift humanitarian aid and a UN presence in upper
Abkhazia.
Requests for representatives of South Ossetia and Abkhazia to
participate in the formal council meeting were rejected.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
South Ossetia
Population: About 70,000 (before recent conflict)
Capital: Tskhinvali
President: Eduard Kokoity
Abkhazia
Population: About 250,000 (2003)
Capital: Sukhumi
President: Sergei Bagapsh
====================
Posts
