Britannia Radio

Georgian crisis - manoeuvrings by politicians - Russians ignore truce
While Gordon Brown is keeping his head down somewhere Cameron is
actually doing something. This comes after his robust press article
on Wednesday where he spelt out actions we should be taking.

Elsewhere. Merkel’s in Russia, but doing what? Bush uses the
strongest language yet and Rud=ssians sign a cease fire and continue
the invasion.
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BBC ONLINE 15.8.08
1. UK Tory leader to visit Georgia

Conservative leader David Cameron is to visit Georgia, the BBC has
learned.

He will head out to the capital Tbilisi on Saturday to meet political
leaders, it has been confirmed by the party and the Georgian embassy
in London.

Russian and Georgian troops have been fighting over the breakaway
Georgian province of South Ossetia.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband has called Russia's actions "blatant
aggression" and US President George Bush accused it of "bullying."
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said earlier that the Georgian
president had signed a six-point ceasefire plan, and that all Russian
troops should leave immediately.

The crisis began when Georgia attacked the breakaway region of South
Ossetia, sparking Russian intervention.

But Russia has said that it had the legal right to move in to protect
Russian peacekeepers who had come under fire, and to protect its
citizens in South Ossetia.

Earlier in the week Mr Cameron said Britain and the West should be
doing more to prevent Russian aggression and called on Prime Minister
Gordon Brown to step up diplomatic pressure on Russia.

The government has held talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy,
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon as well as G7 and EU foreign
ministers.
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2. Bush condemns 'bullying' Russia

US President George W Bush has accused Russia of "bullying and
intimidation" in its military actions inside Georgia.

Mr Bush demanded that Moscow respect Georgia's territorial integrity
and withdraw the troops it sent in a week ago - or risk international
isolation.

The crisis began when Georgia attacked the breakaway region of South
Ossetia, sparking Russian intervention.

Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili said he had signed a
ceasefire deal - but that it was not a final settlement.

The six-point ceasefire agreement was brokered by France, and was
presented by the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in Tbilisi.

It includes a pledge to pull all troops back to their pre-conflict
positions, and a plan to begin international talks about the future
status of South Ossetia and a second breakaway region, Abkhazia.

In a joint news conference with Ms Rice following nearly five hours
of talks, Mr Saakashvili said he would never accept any part of his
country being occupied.

He gave an emotional address, referring to Russia as "cold-blooded
killers" and "barbarians", and he said that Georgia was now "looking
evil directly in the eye".

But Mr Saakashvili also criticised the West for failing to react
strongly enough to previous Russian military moves and for not
granting his country Nato membership earlier this year.

Mr Rice said that Russia had to accept Georgia's sovereignty and
territorial integrity, and demanded a withdrawal of all Russia
military from Georgia "at once".

But as the pair spoke, there were reports of Russian anti-personnel
carriers moving closer towards the Georgian capital, setting up a new
checkpoint about 35km (22 miles) outside Tbilisi.

Earlier, the Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, demanded that
Georgia sign the deal immediately - but said only Russia could
guarantee peace in the region.

'Guarantor' of security
In a statement at the White House, Mr Bush accused Russia of
"bullying and intimidation", saying it was an unacceptable "way to
conduct foreign policy in the 21st Century".

"Only Russia can decide whether it will now put itself back on the
path of responsible nations or continue to pursue a policy that
promises only confrontation and isolation."

Meanwhile, after talks with President Medvedev in the Black Sea
resort of Sochi, German Chancellor Angela Merkel described the
Russian response as "disproportionate".

But Mr Medvedev said Russia was the "guarantor" of the interests and
lives of those in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

He said they trusted Russian troops, and that this had to be taken
into account.

'Peacekeeping mandate'
Mr Medvedev said he did not want to damage relations with other
countries but that Russia had to fulfil its peacekeeping mandate,
[‘mandate’ from whom? Russia? -cs] and that it would respond in the
same way to any future attack.

He added that a new deal to base part of a US missile defence system
on Polish soil was aimed at the Russian federation.
Washington - which says the timing is not linked to the Georgian
crisis - insists that the shield is to protect against "rogue states"
such as Iran.

But, says the BBC's Jonathan Beale in Washington, the US is now
likely to be less worried about Russian objections and more anxious
to send signals to European allies like Poland that it is prepared to
guarantee their protection.

Moscow's troops continue to operate deep inside the Caucasus republic.

The BBC's Richard Galpin, in the Georgian port of Poti, says Russian
forces have taken control of the naval dockyard - with the apparent
intent to destroy or remove Georgian military and naval equipment.
[Theft -cs]

Russian forces still control Gori, which lies some 15km (10 miles)
from South Ossetia and on a key route to Tbilisi, and there is also a
major contingent near the town of Senaki, our correspondent says.

At a news conference, the Russian army earlier said it had seized a
large depot of American-made arms near Senaki. [the war has
supposedly stopped so why do they steal them? -cs]

The crisis began when Georgia attacked South Ossetia on 7 August,
sparking Russian retaliation. Scores [thousands -cs] of people have
died in the fighting.