Tag: Georgia

Russia Will Face Consequences

Really?  What would those be?

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said two decades of work to bring Russia into the international community must be reassessed in the wake of its actions in Georgia, while Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned that Russia’s actions “look like they do belong to the Soviet Union.”

The Bush administration’s two senior defense and foreign affairs officials made the rounds of the Sunday talk shows with harsh words for Russia, citing consequences for Moscow but offering few specifics.

“There’s no doubt there will be further consequences,” Rice said on “Fox News Sunday.” “There have already been significant consequences for Russia.”

She said, for instance, that “any notion that Russia was the kind of responsible state, ready to integrate into international institutions” is now a nation “in tatters.”

Gates said the ultimate consequences for Russia would depend on how quickly they comply with the cease-fire. “I think that the whole world is looking at Russia through a different set of lenses. … The longer they take to get out and to observe the cease-fire that’s been declared and the arrangements that have been worked out, I think the greater those consequences will be,” he said.

As reported in the Washington Post.

Georgia Needs Your Help!

No dipstick I am still talking about the country, not the state.  And why would a country that has a surplus in their budget need our help?  Why would a country that runs on a deficit help a country that workes with a surplus?

The United States is exploring ways to assist Georgia’s economy including how global financial institutions can help limit economic damage caused by the conflict with Russia, a senior U.S. Treasury official said Friday.

Assistant Treasury Secretary Clay Lowery said the situation in Georgia was “fluid” and it was hard to know how much harm was done to the economy and investor confidence since the crisis erupted over the breakaway South Ossetia region.

While the White House has flexed its political muscle to force Russia to pull troops out of the region, the U.S. Treasury has tried to reassure investors over Georgia’s young democracy.

All three institutions said this week they stood ready to help Georgia’s government, which they said had acted to tackle corruption, quicken privatization and created a business-friendly environment that increased capital flows.

“For Georgia to succeed it has got to continue along the path it has been following in terms of its economics, which can lead to greater economic growth and continued private sector flows both from investment and trade,” he added.

Will Russia Be Punished?

Furious over Russia’s invasion of Georgia, the United States and its allies are weighing steps to diplomatically isolate Moscow as punishment for the conflict, senior administration officials said Tuesday.

The United States boycotted preparatory meetings Tuesday for a NATO meeting with Russia, and NATO has canceled a naval exercise with Russian forces in the northern Pacific.

Washington and its allies also are discussing whether to drop Moscow from the Group of Eight industrialized economic powers, the official said.

Russian President Dimitry Medvedev had pledged to strengthen Russia’s role in the international community and world economy.

President Bush said Monday that Russia’s actions “substantially damaged Russia’s standing in the world” and “jeopardized its relations” with the United States and Europe.

In the long run, Russia will have its pee pee whacked, but that will be about it.  Nothing will be done to jeopardize any US business dealings in the country.

News Flash: The Georgia Invasion Is Over!

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has ordered an end to military operations against Georgia, the Kremlin says.

He told officials he had taken the decision to end the campaign after restoring security for civilians and peacekeepers in South Ossetia.

However, Russia has been highly critical of Georgia’s leadership, and there were no signs of imminent talks.

Before the announcement, there were fresh reports of Russian warplanes bombing the Georgian town of Gori.

Are Kidding Me?

Russian tanks roared deep into Georgia on Monday, launching a new western front in the conflict, and Russian planes staged air raids that sent people screaming and fleeing for cover in some towns.

The escalating warfare brought sharp words from President Bush, who pressed Moscow to accept an immediate cease-fire and pull its troops out to avert a “dramatic and brutal escalation” of violence in the former Soviet republic. And the President called the invasion “unacceptable”.

Now here is a great idea!

President Mikheil Saakashvili urged his Western allies to provide more than just moral support and aid to confront Russia in Georgia’s conflict over the separatist region of South Ossetia

“So far we have got from them moral support and humanitarian aid, but we need more than that to stop this barbaric aggression,” he said in a televised address.

Are you kidding me? A president that invaded 2 countries accusing another country of acting in an unacceptable manner. Am I the only one that sees that as a bit of a hypocritical stance?

Georgia Backs Up

Still not talking about the state, but rather the armed conflict in southern Europe.

Georgia says its forces have withdrawn from the separatist enclave of South Ossetia, and that Russian troops are now in control of the regional capital.

An interior ministry spokesman told the BBC it was not a military defeat but a necessary step to protect civilians from a “humanitarian catastrophe”.

Georgia says Russia has brought an additional 10,000 soldiers across its frontiers, readying for a raid.

Georgian troops have pulled back to positions at or south of those held on 6 August, when the current hostilities began, said Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili.

Earlier, Georgia’s President Mikhail Saakashvili called for an immediate ceasefire to stop what he described as an “annihilation” of his country’s democracy.

In the absence of independent verification, there are conflicting figures about the casualties suffered on both sides but the numbers appeared to rise sharply on Saturday.

Based on Russian and South Ossetian estimates, the death toll on the South Ossetian side was at least 1,500. According to Moscow, all but a few of the dead were civilians.

Russia Invades Georgia

No dipstick, not the state of Georgia; the former Soviet territory of Georgia.

Georgia launched a major military offensive Friday to retake the breakaway province of South Ossetia, prompting Moscow to send tanks into the region in a furious response that threatens to engulf Georgia, a staunch U.S. ally, and Russia in all-out war.

Hundreds were reported dead in the worst outbreak of hostilities since the province won defacto independence in a war against Georgia that ended in 1992. Witnesses said the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali was devastated.

The fighting broke out as much of the world’s attention was focused on the start of the Olympic Games and many leaders, including Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Bush, were on their way to Beijing.

The timing suggests Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili may have been counting on surprise to fulfill his longtime pledge to wrest back control of South Ossetia — a key to his hold on power.

Saakashvili agreed the timing was not coincidental, but accused Russia of being the aggressor. “Most decision makers have gone for the holidays,” he said in an interview with CNN. “Brilliant moment to attack a small country.”

Ten Russian peacekeepers were killed and 30 wounded when their barracks were hit in Georgian shelling, said Russian Ground Forces spokesman Col. Igor Konashenkov. Russia has soldiers in South Ossetia as peacekeeping forces but Georgia alleges they back the separatists.

Georgia, which borders the Black Sea between Turkey and Russia, was ruled by Moscow for most of the two centuries preceding the breakup of the Soviet Union. The country has angered Russia by seeking NATO membership — a bid Moscow regards as part of a Western effort to weaken its influence in the region.