Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Misc update (Georgia)


Relations between Russia, Georgia, NATO, and the U.S. exist in a sort of cold war, with occasional rhetorical eruptions on both sides and with the internal politics of the various parties roiled by the circumstances resulting from the war of 2008... Some headlines:

American re-arming of Georgia will spark new aggression – S. Ossetia. Dec 21st, 2011 - "... The South Ossetian Foreign Ministry has stated that a US Senate draft resolution on the resumption of arms supplies to Georgia can be seen as pushing Tbilisi to aggression against its former republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The ministry voiced its regret over the fact that American senators drew no conclusions from “the tragic events of August 2008 and have once again settled down to a course of encouraging [Georgian President] Saakashvili to a new aggression to please their political ambitions,”cites Interfax.

Will the US resume weapons sales to Georgia? Dec 19th, 2011 - "... The US Congress has mandated that the US begin to sell weapons again to Georgia, re-establishing full military ties for the first time since the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia. This will likely throw a wrench into the delicate "reset" between Washington and Moscow. Deep inside the massive military authorisation bill passed on December 15, Section 1242 calls on the Secretaries of Defence and State to develop a plan within 90 days "for the normalisation of United States defence cooperation with the Republic of Georgia, including the sale of defensive arms". It encourages NATO member and candidate countries "to restore and enhance their sales of defensive articles and services to the Republic of Georgia as part of a broader NATO effort to deepen its defense relationship and cooperation with the Republic of Georgia"..."

Russian army officer jailed for spying for Georgia. Dec 7th, 2011 - "... A former Russian Army major was given a 12-year prison term on Wednesday for spying for Georgia, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported from the courtroom..."

Experts do not rule out Russia's military intervention in situation in South Ossetia. Nov 29th, 2011 - "... Mass protests in Tskhinvali may cause Russia's military intervention to settle the situation, according to Ivan Sukhov, a columnist for "The Time of News", and Alan Parastaev, an employee for the project of Radio Liberty "Echo of the Caucasus". Today, the Supreme Court of South Ossetia has considered the complaint lodged by the presidential candidate Anatoly Bibilov that on the voting day the electorate was pressed on, and recognized the presidential election in South Ossetia invalid. On the decision of the Court, all the results of the second round of the election, where Alla Djioeva was Bibilov's opponent, have been annulled. Also today, the parliament of South Ossetia has appointed the repeated presidential election on March 25, 2012..."

Kremlin Official Accuses U.S. Of "Murdering" Russian Soldiers In South Ossetia. Nov 30th, 2011 - "... A senior Russian official has blamed the U.S. and NATO for the "murder" of Russian peacekeepers during the 2008 war in South Ossetia. The official, Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council Vladimir Nazarov, made the comments at a conference in Moscow on Wednesday.."

The Russian-Georgian war as a turning point. Nov 24th, 2011 - "... President Dmitry Medvedev made a remarkable statement during a speech to military officers in southern Russia early this week. Regarding the August 2008 war between Russian and Georgia, he said, “For some of our partners, including NATO, it was a signal that they must think about geopolitical stability before making a decision to expand the alliance.”..."

Medvedev Gets Caught Telling The Truth. Nov 22nd, 2011 - "... In a rare instance of truth telling, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev appeared to reveal on Monday the real reason Moscow went to war with Georgia in August 2008. Speaking to officers of the Southern Military District in Vladikavkaz, Medvedev seemed to suggest that the goal was preventing Georgia from joining NATO..."

Ivanishvili: We Started the War with South Ossetia. Nov 2nd, 2011 - "... Georgia's billionaire/politician Bidzina Ivanishvili has given his first press conference in which he expanded on his views on defense and foreign policy, which have been the matter of some speculation since he entered the political arena. He reiterated, but in stronger terms, his previous assessment that it was Georgia, not Russia, who started the war over South Ossetia..."

“Frozen conflicts” hinder NATO's enlargement to South Caucasus. Sept 29th, 2011 - "... Most likely, Putin will continue to pursue the policy Russia has pursued with respect to the South Caucasus in recent years. It would probably be the most pragmatic policy line, as Moscow at this stage is not interested in violating the status quo in the neighboring states. Putin, in my opinion, will try to keep the allied relations with Armenia and the friendliest relations with Azerbaijan as much as possible..."

One small step towards recognizing Abkhazia and South Ossetia? Aug 31st, 2011 - "... The recent presidential elections in Abkhazia have reignited the debate concerning the legitimacy of any internal political developments in the two newly independent states, Abkhazia and South Ossetia..."

Vice President Wins Georgian Rebel Region's Presidential Election. Aug 27th, 2011 - "... The vice president of the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia has won the presidential election there. Central Election Commission Chairman Batal Tabagua told reporters that preliminary figures showed Aleksandr Ankvab taking 55 percent of the vote. Tbilisi called the polls illegitimate and NATO said it would refuse to recognize them..."

Russia files criminal lawsuit against Georgia over August 2008 war. Aug 9th, 2011 - "... Russia has sent the copies of all materials collected during the investigation into the August 2008 Georgian war on South Ossetia to the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC), Vladimir Markin, the official spokesman for the Russian Investigative Committee, told reporters on Monday. He emphasized that the Georgian side had repeatedly refused to cooperate with Russian investigative bodies in establishing the truth..."

Medvedev reignites war of words over blame for Georgia conflict. Aug 8th, 2011 - "... Three years after the short, bitter war that left hundreds dead and redrew the map of the Caucasus, Russia and Georgia have been trading insults and accusations over what happened in the run-up to the conflict..."

Georgia: Putin Tweaks Tbilisi on Ossetian Annexation. Aug 8th, 2011 - "... Three years after their war, Russia and Georgia are still fighting over the separatist territory of South Ossetia. Russia’s political supremo, Vladimir Putin, ignited the latest skirmish with a suggestion that South Ossetia may opt to join the Russian Federation. ..."

Russia, Georgia remain in distrustful deadlock on anniversary of 2008 war. Aug 5th, 2011 - "... The war that erupted between Russia and its little post-Soviet neighbor Georgia three years ago this weekend was unexpected, extremely violent, and brief, much like the sudden summer storms that descend upon the Caucasus Mountains at this time of year..."

'Resolution on Occupation' Passed in U.S. Senate. Jul 30th, 2011 - "The U.S. Senate unanimously passed on July 29 a resolution supporting Georgia’s territorial integrity and recognizing Abkhazia and South Ossetia as regions “occupied by the Russian Federation”.

Some previous blog entries on Georgia:
Misc update (Georgia) - May 15th, 2011
Misc update (Georgia) - Mar 26th, 2011
A little war II - Apr 22nd, 2010
A little war I - Mar 17th, 2010
An inconvenient truth - Nov 26th, 2008
Georgia update... - Nov 22nd, 2008
Georgia - Sept 7th, 2008
Immediate Response?!? - Aug 25th, 2008
Georgia (updated) - Aug 15th, 2008
Two-edged sword (South Ossetia) - Aug 11th, 2008

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