Britannia Radio

The "mountain that gave birth to a mouse"
This is the situation at midnight 19/20 August. I give Miliband in
fiull since - like or leave it - he is our voice in the World as
Brown appears to be conten t to congratulate Olympic medal winners!

Then I give shortened versions of two leading summaries of the war of
words in Brussels and Moscow. There’ll be more in the morning!

Miliband on Newsnight tonight was vocal but despite repeated probing
failed to explain why Russia should take any notice of empty words.
xxxxxxxxxxx cs
=================
TIMES 19.8.08
Russia will not benefit from its aggression
The invasion of Georgia was entirely unjustified - and we will
strengthen support for its wish to join Nato
David Miliband

You don't need to be a student of the crushing of the Prague Spring
in 1968 to find the sight of Russian tanks rolling into a
neighbouring country chilling. The Georgian crisis is about more than
vital issues of humanitarian need and rule of law over rule of force.
It raises a fundamental issue of whether, and if so how, Russia can
play a full and legitimate part in a rules-based international
political system, exercising its rights but respecting those of others.

The immediate issues are clear. The ceasefire must be fully
implemented. We need to see evidence that Moscow has now ordered
Russian forces to withdraw to pre-August 7 positions and that this is
happening.
Russian mind games on withdrawal do them no credit. The quick
deployment of international monitors is also vital (the UK will play
its full part in this). Humanitarian aid needs to be delivered
quickly - again the UK is already committed in this area.

These actions need to be taken in the context of a clear diagnosis of
the events of the last two weeks. For me, the fog of war does not
obscure the basic points.

Since the early 1990s the frozen conflicts of South Ossetia and
Abkhazia have been the subject of international mediation aimed at
peaceful resolution. In the first week of August South Ossetian
provocation prompted a Georgian military response. This then provided
a pretext for overwhelming Russian aggression in and beyond the
borders of South Ossetia. Russian forces also entered the rest of
Georgia from Abkhazia.

Russia has provided no evidence of war crimes. If there is such
evidence it must be produced, investigated and acted on. But Russian
actions are untenable. First, in its own military operations, Russia
has violated successive UN Security Council resolutions which they
themselves agreed. Most recently Resolution 1808, passed in April,
reaffirmed Georgian sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as
limits on the Russian peacekeepers.

Secondly, Russia has, in the contrasting cases of Chechnya and
Zimbabwe, argued vigorously against what it sees as international
“interference” in internal affairs of sovereign countries. In this
case it has blatantly violated the sovereignty of a neighbouring (and
democratic) country. China and the Non-Aligned Movement will be
surprised by this new position.

The British position is that aggression cannot and will not redraw
the map of Russia's former “near abroad” (or anywhere else). The
territorial integrity of Georgia must be respected. Democratically
elected governments should be changed only by the people in free and
fair elections. International law must be obeyed. This goes to the
heart of the question of how Russia comes to terms with its past, and
how it sees its future; above all, whether it recognises that the old
frontiers of the Soviet Union are now history, and whether Russia
sees its future as part of a rules-based international system.

The collapse of the Soviet Union created new facts on the ground -
notably sovereign, independent countries with minds of their own and
rights to defend. Many have already joined the EU and Nato; Ukraine
and Georgia have said they want to and Nato has said that they can.
This must be a choice for them. So in the EU and Nato, and through UN
resolutions, we must strengthen our support for these countries,
while at the same time organising our engagement with Russia to
demonstrate the costs of adventurism and aggression.

At the emergency Nato foreign ministers meeting today I will argue
for political and practical support for Georgia. Politically we need
to reassert our commitment to its territorial integrity and, like the
EU last week, to immediate international engagement with the long-
term settlement of the frozen conflicts. Practically we need to
confirm the commitment made at the Nato summit in April to membership
for Ukraine and Georgia and to follow it up with serious co-operation
- militarily and politically - as part of a structured route map to
eventual membership.

Georgia and Ukraine are undergoing significant processes of reform.
We should be seeking to support them as they develop themselves
economically and politically.

In respect of Russia, I favour hard-headed engagement that leverages
the benefits that the Kremlin needs from the international system -
economically and politically - into a force for responsible behaviour
from Russia.

We have significant shared interests with Russia, whether on energy,
trade or stopping Iran from developing a nuclear bomb. And with a
declining population and an economy not much bigger than Spain's,
Russia needs positive international partnerships.

Our response should be to welcome them into systems such as the World
Trade Organisation - if they are willing to abide by the rules. We
should forge greater European unity on issues such as energy, and
then engage with Russia: together we are Russia's energy market, and
while it is a dominant supplier negotiating with 27 separate
countries, it is far less powerful in the face of a concerted
European negotiating position.

On the international stage, the UK favours reform of the G8 - notably
expanding its membership to reflect the modern realities of the
economic balance of power, and the position of countries such as
India and China. I do not support Russia's expulsion from the G8:
that would encourage Russian sense of victimhood, fuel Russian
revanchism, and allow the Russians to position themselves as the
champion of reform for those currently outside the G8. Instead we
should use the G8 to work on issues where Russia can be a partner -
whether on climate change or nuclear decommissioning. But we should
also be prepared to act as a G7 when Russia acts in flagrant breach
of international law and flouts our values.
Russian wedge-driving, across the Atlantic or within Europe, will not
work if we stick to these principles and apply them properly.

The Russian Foreign Minister said last week that there were no
winners from the conflict. That must indeed be the outcome.
- - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - -
- David Miliband is the Foreign Secretary
=====================
Politics Home Blog 19.8.08
Miliband defends timing of Georgia visit
David Miliband, Foreign Secretary
Sky News 12:06

Mr Miliband rejected suggestions that the British government has been
slow to send a representative to Georgia, saying that his visit today
had been agreed in advance with America.

“Britain has been extremely active on this issue and I agreed with
Condi Rice last week that it made sense for her to go before the NATO
meeting and for me to go straight afterwards,” he said.

He added that although he favoured engagement, relations between
Russia and NATO would not be "business as usual”.

“There's no question of just continuing with the NATO-Russia meeting
as if nothing had happened – something important has happened,” he
said.

He added: “I think there's a real feeling at the meeting today that
Russia has failed to live up to its commitments and that that has
serious consequences for the trust that is placed in Russia as an
international partner”.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
BBC Radio 4 - World at One, 1.10

Later Mr Miliband outlined the NATO plan to establish a NATO-Georgia
commission for bringing Georgia into NATO membership.

"It is very significant that in May, Georgia committed to joining
NATO. We haven't been debating time lines what we have been debating
is the route-map."

"I do not myself support trying to isolate Russia...That would play
into a sense of Russian victimhood," Mr Miliband said. " It is
certainly true that in the short term there can be no military
solution. this has to be resolved politically," he added, "Russia
clearly hasn't learnt the lessons of the end of the cold war and the
Soviet Union."

When asked about the appropriateness of David Cameron's visit to
Georgia Mr Miliband said "I don't think that is very
significant...David Cameron's visit was perfectly reasonable.
Britain's weight is being felt," he insisted.
=======================
THE TIMES 20.8.08
Russia dismisses Nato's 'empty words' as it stands firm in Georgia
Michael Evans, Defence Editor, in Brussels

Nato united in the face of Russia’s failure to withdraw from Georgia
today, freezing regular contacts with Moscow and declaring that there
could be “no business as usual under present circumstances”.

However, there will be no Nato troops rushing to Tbilisi to put
military muscle behind the tough statement issued at an emergency
meeting of the alliance’s 26 foreign ministers in Brussels. Military
assistance will be restricted to training exercises and talks about
prospective membership of the alliance.

David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, who flew off to meet Mikhail
Saakashvili, Georgia’s President, in Tbilisi after the meeting,
emphasised that he was talking “politically” when he pronounced that
“Nato will defend the territorial integrity of Georgia”. He said he
was referring to the defence of international law.

The Nato statement triggered a furious response from Moscow, leaving
relations between Russia and the West at their lowest point in years.
Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s Foreign Minister, accused Nato of trying to
“save a criminal regime in Tbilisi” and “taking a path to the
rearmament of the current leaders in Georgia”. He claimed Russian
troops could be withdrawn within three or four days.

Dmitry Rogozin, the Russian Ambassador to Nato, also dismissed the
alliance’s statement. “On the whole, all of these threats that have
been raining down on Russia turned out to be empty words,” he said.

Nato’s “political” support for Georgia did not go down that well with
Georgians either. When Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Nato Secretary-General,
announced at the end of the meeting that the alliance was to set up a
Nato/Georgia Commission to facilitate intensive discussions with
Tbilisi, a Georgian journalist asked : “With Russian troops deep
inside Georgia, murdering and raping its people, what does this new
Nato/Georgia Commission do for us?” [Good question -cs]

The Nato chief said the commission was a political structure which
would help towards Georgia’s aspirations to become a full member of
the alliance at some stage in the future.
( - - - - - - -)

Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, said Nato had an open
door policy for membership, and declared that Russia had no right to
try and draw “a new line” in Europe, preventing certain countries
from opting for a Transatlantic future. That was “unacceptable”, she
said.

(- - - - - - -)

In the end, the continuing presence of thousands of Russian troops,
some of them only 30 kilometres from Tbilisi, convinced even the more
cautious allies such as France and Germany to demand a full Russian
withdrawal.
(- - - - - - -)
While Russian troops remained in Georgia there would be no meeting of
the Council, he said. “I think we should still engage with the
Russians but in a hard-headed way and we mustn’t allow the Russians
to feel they are the victims of this affair when they are the
transgressors.”

British diplomatic sources said Mr Miliband planned to “go out on the
ground” during his 24-hour visit to Georgia to see what the Russians
had been doing since crossing into the country after Mr Saakashvili’s
ill-fated attempt to regain control of South Ossetia, the pro-Russian
breakaway region.

Dr Rice underlined Washington’s desire “not to isolate Russia”, but
said the Russians had isolated themselves “when they invaded a small
neighbouring country” and started bombing, “wreaking havoc and
causing wanton destruction”.

The foreign ministers agreed that Nato would review any additional
requests for assistance. However, the Georgian leader’s appeal for
international monitors has been taken up by the OSCE organisation
which yesterday sent the first of about 100 ceasefire inspectors to
the country.

Dr Rice, however, said she saw the need for a new international force
of peacekeepers to be sent to South Ossetia. Before the present
crisis erupted, Russia had about 1,000 peacekeepers in the breakaway
region where most of the people have Russian passports. Dr Rice said
the Russians were “party to the conflict” over South Ossetia and were
not neutral.

In condemning the Russian military action in Georgia, the Nato
foreign ministers said: “Russian military action has been
disproportionate and inconsistent with its peacekeeping role.”
==========================
TELEGRAPH 20.8.08
Nato offers scant comfort for Georgia over conflict with Russia
Major divisions opened up between Nato members as European countries
rejected an American proposal to suspend ties with Russia over its
actions in Georgia.
By Adrian Blomfield in Tbilisi

The differences at an emergency summit in Brussels offered scant
comfort for Georgia, which had hoped that its bid for Nato membership
would be expedited.

While the alliance agreed to create a Nato-Georgia Commission which
will support the country's economic recovery, there was no mention of
speeding up the membership process.

The summit was expected to present a united front against what
Western countries say has been an act of unconscionable aggression
against an important ally.

The United States had called for a formal suspension of ministerial
meetings with Moscow by Nato countries, but European members made
clear they favoured a much milder approach and issued a .[here a
blank ???]

Even Britain, which has been broadly supportive of Washington's
robust condemnation of the Kremlin, chose to side with the Europeans
in rejecting a proposal to freeze the Nato-Russia council,
established in 2002 to boost relations between Moscow and the West.
"I am not one that believes that isolating Russia is the right answer
to its misdemeanours," said David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary.
"I think the right answer is hard-headed dialogue." [dialogue with
tanks is not easy -cs]

Mr Miliband arrived in Georgia later to express Britain's support for
the government of President Mikheil Saakashvili.

He lashed out at Russia for reneging on three separate pledges to
withdraw from Georgia and missing a new deadline of noon on Monday to
pull out, describing the Kremlin's recalcitrance as “incomprehensible”.
“The world is asking Russia to live up to its commitments.”

Mr Miliband warned that the pressure on Russia would grow as it
continued to defy international consensus and hinted that Moscow's
presence in international forums like the G8 was at risk.

But the foreign secretary denied that Nato had been too soft,
claiming that it had been a major step to get all 26 countries,
including those traditionally more supportive of Russia, to speak
with one voice.
“People expected that there would be a flaking away on issues like
Georgia's territorial integrity but there hasn't,” he said. “There
hasn't been an old Europe-new Europe divide.”

(- - - - - - -)
With France and Germany, heavily dependent on Russian energy, urging
caution and Italy broadly supporting the Kremlin's actions, Nato
issued a watered down statement expressing "grave concern".

It told Russia that meetings could not take place while its troops
remained in Georgia and said that relations could be damaged if a
pull-out did not begin quickly.

"The Alliance is considering seriously the implications of Russia's
actions for the Nato-Russian relationship," the statement read. "We
have determined that we cannot continue with business as usual."

The meeting prompted a mixture of scorn and outrage in Moscow, which
continued to defy international calls for a full military withdrawal
from Georgia.

Russia's ambassador to Nato, Dmitry Rogozin, derided the summit as a
"mountain that gave birth to a mouse".
"All of these threats that have been raining down on Russia turned
out to be empty words," he said.

Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, accused Nato of
protecting a "criminal regime".

Russia also pulled out of a Nato exercise in the Baltic Sea and
cancelled a visit by a US naval frigate to the Kamchatka peninsula.

Some progress in alleviating the crisis was briefly visible after
Georgia and Russia completed a prisoner-swap yesterday morning.

But an hour later, Russian troops smashed their way into the port of
Poti, on Georgia's Black Sea post. After blowing up the missile boat
Dioskuria, the Georgian navy's most sophisticated vessel, the
Russians seized 21 Georgian servicemen and took them prisoner.

Blinded and handcuffed, the soldiers were then dragged to an unknown
location. They also confiscated four American Humvees, used in a
recent military exercise in Georgia, that were awaiting shipment back
to the United States.

There was little visible evidence that a Russian withdrawal was
underway, although officials in Moscow said it was and western
correspondents were invited to see a small convoy of military
vehicles leave the strategically important town of Gori.

But nearby, Russian soldiers continued to build trenches and in other
towns there were no signs of a drawdown of forces.

Mr Lavrov, however, said that Russian troops could be pulled out of
Georgia within three days although other officials refused to give a
time frame.

The UN Security Council was due to meet to discuss a new draft
resolution calling for respect of Georgia's territorial integrity and
the withdrawal of Russian troops.