We wish you all much health, happiness and success

in the new year.

kapba.de       

Sukhum, Prospects for the Georgian-Abkhazian settlement and the level of participation of international agencies in that process were in the focus of attention at talks on Monday between British Ambassador to Georgia Denis Keefe and Abkhazian Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba.

“During the talks, Keefe noted a positive character of the Geneva process, aimed at creating mechanisms to solve issues of security and refugee return,” sources from the press service of the Abkhazian Foreign Ministry told Tass.

“The ambassador was also interested in prospects for preserving the UN mission as the main mediator in the settlement process,” they added.

Shamba stressed that “Abkhazia is interested in an early peaceful settlement of existing problems, and seeks to participate in international discussions on the settlement of the conflict as an equal partner”.

He believes “it is necessary to preserve the functions of the UN mission as the main international mediator”. However, “taking into consideration a new status of the republic, it is necessary to change the format of the mission, which will be coordinated at the UN Security Council,” Shamba said.

12.29.2008  Itar-Tass

Moscow, Georgia is moving tanks and armored vehicles closer to the border with South Ossetia, Ossetian officials said Monday.

"According to intelligence reports, Georgia has moved 28 tanks to Gori, where a tank battalion is stationed. In addition, Cobra armored vehicles have been spotted in the village of Nikozi near the South Ossetian border," the state committee on information and press said in a statement.

The European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) said last Friday it was concerned over the deployment by Georgia of Cobra armored vehicles in areas close to the South Ossetian and Abkhazian borders.

Georgia's Interior Ministry has confirmed reports of Cobra vehicles being in a number of villages and said the EU has been informed of that.

The head of the ministry's analytical department said the vehicles are employed to patrol and control the situation.

"We brought Cobra vehicles to border villages, including Nikozi, two weeks ago," Shota Utiashvili said.

Georgia attacked South Ossetia on August 7-8 in an attempt to regain control over the republic, which, along with Abkhazia, split from Georgia in the early 1990s.

In response Russia launched a military operation to repel Georgia's troops from the region, which concluded on August 12, ending up deep in Georgian territory.

In accordance with a French-brokered peace deal, Russia withdrew its forces from Georgian buffer zones ahead of an October 10 deadline. The peacekeepers were replaced by a 200-strong EU monitoring mission to Georgia.

12.29.2008  RIA Novosti

Aleksandr Lukashenko does not exclude that after the New Year the Belarusian parliament may consider addresses of South Ossetia and Abkhazia concerning recognition of their independence, Interfax informs.

“After the New Year our parliament is to consider these issues, and if there would ne will of the nation and of the parliament, the president will sign a decree about that [about independence recognition],” Lukashenko stated.

The Belarusian leader told that the issue was discussed with the Russian leadership during the talks in Moscow on December 22. “Issues of Abkhazia, South Ossetia were a detail in our negotiations,” Lukashenko said. As said by him, “these issues are issues of our relations with Abkhazia and South Ossetia”.

12.24.2008  Charter97

Moscow, A new Security Council resolution giving a new UN mandate in the Georgian-Abhkazian conflict must be completed by February 15, 2009, Russia's ambassador to the UN said on Tuesday.

Vitaly Churkin said that since discussions held in Geneva last Thursday did not lead to anything substantial, the United Nations would handle the problem.

"As far as I know, the consultations in Geneva did not lead to any concrete agreements; therefore, that work will be handed over to us," the diplomat said. "We will have to work out a new mandate for the mission by February 15."

"The name of the UN mission in the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict zone has changed in the new resolution since the geopolitical reality has changed," he added. "We believe it is incorrect to operate with the names used earlier. It is now simply called a UN mission."

The United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) was established in August 1993 to verify compliance with the ceasefire agreement between the Georgian government and the authorities in Abkhazia. The October 9, 2008, resolution that extended the UN mandate to February 15, 2009, referred only to "the United Nations mission" but recalled all previous resolutions and did not change the official name of the mission.

Unlike the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict, the UN Security Council had no role in the South Ossetian-Georgian settlement, which established the Joint Control Commission between Russia, Georgia and the South Ossetian authorities.

"South Ossetia came into the Security Council's view only when Georgia attacked South Ossetia; therefore, strictly speaking, the Security Council does not have a mandate or agenda for the South Ossetian situation," Churkin said.

Russia recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states on August 26, two weeks after a five-day war with Georgia, which launched an attack on South Ossetia to try and regain control of the region. Georgia and Russia have no diplomatic relations at the moment.

Churkin said that in regard to the situation in the Caucasus in its entirety, "at this stage the Security Council has not set any concrete goals."

"So far such a political task has not been placed before us. We'll see how the conclusions to the Geneva discussions are analyzed and perhaps upon the completion of the discussions, we will be given that type of task," he said.

"The Security Council will get more involved if the task is expanded to the UN," the diplomat said.

Abkhazia and South Ossetia have so far only been recognized by Russia and Nicaragua. Belarus has said it may recognize in the future, and Venezuela has voiced support for Russia's move.

12.23.2008  RIA Novosti

Moscow, Sergey Shamba, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia, was on a working visit to Moscow on December 22-23. This was his first visit since the recognition of Abkhazia's independence by the Russian Federation.

During the visit, Shamba had talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov. The sides discussed the process of fostering full-format interstate relations between Russia and Abkhazia with emphasis on the tasks in forming the juridical base of bilateral ties. The ministers exchanged the instruments of ratification of the Treaty between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Abkhazia on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance of September 17, 2008. Lavrov and Shamba signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the MFA of the Russian Federation and the MFA of the Republic of Abkhazia on Cooperation in International Relations.

An exchange of views took place on the outcome of the third round of Geneva Discussions, held on December 17-18. The ministers stressed that the priority task of the consultations in this format must be to fix a pledge of Georgia not to use force, approve a security zones regime in the Georgian territories adjacent to Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and reach an agreement to impose an embargo on offensive arms supplies to Georgia.

In view of the approaching expiry of the mandate of the UN Observer Mission in Georgia the Russian side expressed support for Sukhum's position in favor of maintaining the UN presence within the territory of the republic. In discussing the future configuration of that presence, the sides consider it necessary to take into account the new realities in the region.

Sergey Shamba also delivered a lecture to MGIMO (U) students and faculty on the problems of Transcaucasia.

The visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia to Russia constituted an important step along the road of fostering equal and mutually advantageous cooperation between the two countries, meeting the interests of bolstering peace and security in the region.

12.23.2008  Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation

Moscow, Russia plans to sign a military cooperation and border protection treaty with the republic of Abkhazia in early 2009, the Russian foreign minister said on Tuesday.

Russia recognized Abkhazia along with the republic South Ossetia as independent states on August 26 after a five-day war with Georgia, which launched an attack on South Ossetia to try and regain control of the region.

Sergei Lavrov said the treaty on regulating military contacts with Abkhazia and joint border protection, as well as a host of other cooperation agreements were being finalized.

"We have agreed to step up the work so that we can sign the documents early next year," Lavrov said at talks with Abkhazian Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba.

Russia's Defense Ministry earlier said it plans to open one base in Gudauta, in the west of Abkhazia, and another in Tskhinval, the capital of South Ossetia, which would be fully operational by the end of 2010.

The Russian foreign minister said the talks with his Abkhaz counterpart also focused on trade and economic relations.

Moreover, Lavrov and Shamba signed a memorandum stipulating Russia's readiness to represent the interests of Abkhazia in third-party countries.

12.23.2008  RIA Novosti

Moscow, A probe into Georgia's aggression against South Ossetia has been extended until April 2009, the head of Russia's special investigations committee said on Tuesday.

Alexander Bastrykin said the committee is considering expanding its probe into Georgia's war against South Ossetia to include a further four indictments.

He also said an international tribunal could be established to investigate war crimes committed in South Ossetia in August after Georgia launched a military offensive on the capital Tskhinval which led to a brief war between Tbilisi and Russia over South Ossetia.

"Once the investigation has been completed, a special judicial body would need to be set up to address the events in South Ossetia," Bastrykin said.

He said the case files would then be passed over to the Foreign Ministry, who would hand them over to the international community.

He also said foreign mercenaries fought in South Ossetia alongside Georgian troops during the August attack.

"Today we have received conclusive proof that members of Ukraine's nationalist organization, UNA-UNSO [Ukrainian National Assembly - Ukrainian National Self Defense] took part in these events," Bastrykin said, adding that U.S., Turkish and Czech mercenaries had been involved in the fighting in South Ossetia.

Russia also plans to sign a military cooperation and border protection treaty with Abkhazia, recognized as an independent state by Moscow, in early 2009, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

Lavrov said the treaty on regulating military contacts with Abkhazia and joint border protection, as well as a host of other cooperation agreements was being finalized.

"We have agreed to step up the work so that we can sign the documents early next year," Lavrov said at talks with Abkhazian Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba.

Lavrov also said Russia is ready to represent the interests of Abkhazia in third-party countries.

12.23.20088  RIA Novosti

Geneva, A new round of talks on South Ossetia and Abkhazia will be held in Geneva on February 17-18, a European Union envoy said on Thursday.

Pierre Morel said the decision was taken during the third round of international consultations involving representatives of the two republics, Georgia, the EU, the OSCE, the UN, Russia and the United States.

Russia recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states on August 26 after a five-day war with Georgia, which had attacked South Ossetia to bring it back under central control. Nicaragua has so far been the only other country to recognize the republics.

Shootings and abductions have been reported along the de facto border between Georgia and South Ossetia since after the armed conflict, with the sides blaming each other for continuing violence.

12.18.20088  RIA Novosti

Moscow, A South Ossetian delegation has left for Geneva, where it will take part in the third round of talks on Caucasian security and stability on December 17-18, which will be attended by representatives of Russia, Abkhazia, Georgia, the United States, the European Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations.

The South Ossetian side is going to discuss "security, provocations by the Georgian side, which have recently become more frequent, as well as the return of refugees," he said.

The delegation is led by South Ossetian presidential representative for talks Boris Chochiyev, South Ossetian Foreign Minister Marat Dzhioyev and South Ossetian presidential advisor Konstantin Kochiyev.

An Abkhaz delegation intends to come up with new proposals on easing tensions in the region, Abkhaz Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba told Interfax.

The Abkhaz delegation, led by Abkhaz presidential advisor on international affairs Vyacheslav Chirikba, consists of Deputy Abkhaz Foreign Minister Maxim Gunjia and member of the Executive Committee of the International Association of Abkhaz People Zeki Kapba.

"The parties will discuss measures to ensure security and the return of refugees," Gunjia told Interfax before leaving from Moscow for Geneva.

"Abkhazia speaks for continuing the activity of the UN mission in the republic but proposes to adjust the UN mission's mandate and to change its name given the fact that two states recognized the independence of the republic. The name of the UN Monitoring Mission in Georgia in no way complies with the present day situation," Gunjia said.

Abkhazia also proposes to resume weekly meetings in the Gal district under the UN auspice and with the participation of representatives from Abkhazia, Georgia, the Russian Armed Forces, UN and EU observers, he said. "In our opinion, this will ease tensions in districts bordering on Georgia," he added.

The Abkhaz side will again come up with the proposal to register all Georgian refugees who returned to the Gal district, Gunjia said.

12.16.2008  iStockAnalyst

Moscow, The Russian ambassadors to South Ossetia and Abkhazia presented their credentials on Tuesday to the presidents of the two republics.

Elbrus Kargiyev and Semyon Grigoryev gave their credentials to South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity and Abkhazian President Sergei Bagapsh.

Russia recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states on August 26 after a five-day war with Georgia, which launched an attack on South Ossetia to try and regain control of the region.

On September 9, diplomatic ties were established between the states. In late October, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev appointed Kargiyev and Grigoryev ambassadors.

Kokoity and Bagapsh thanked the Russian authorities for the assistance given to the republics in all areas.

The two republics have had de facto independence since they broke away from Georgia in bloody post-Soviet conflicts in the early 1990s.

12.16.2008  RIA Novosti

The Parliamentary Assembly of Belarus-Russia Union State is likely to hold several sessions in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, BelTA informs.

On December 16, the 35th session of the Parliamentary Assembly that took place in Minsk approved its schedule for 2009. One of the amendments suggested “elaborating an opportunity to hold PA on-site sessions in Abkhazia and South Ossetia”, which parliaments have an observer status in PA.

12.16.2008  The National Internet Portal of the Republic of Belarus

The House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus is considering the appeals from the national parliaments of Abkhazia and South Ossetia to recognize their independence, Speaker of the Lower Chamber of the Belarusian parliament Vladimir Andreichenko told reporters on December 16, BelTA informs.

Vladimir Andreichenko said that the Belarusian parliament received the request from South Ossetia on December 1. The address from Abkhazia had been delivered to the Belarusian parliament before then. In line with the national legislation, these addresses will be considered by the House of Representatives after they are studied by the relevant commission.

“The people of Abkhazia and South Ossetia are Belarus’ friendly nations. Our country was one of the first to provide South Ossetia with humanitarian aid,” Vladimir Andreichenko said.

12.16.2008  The National Internet Portal of the Republic of Belarus

Sukhum, Abkhaz Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba says the talks on a new mandate of the UN mission are being held with some success.

"We are very close to mutual understanding, and if the negotiating process continues to develop in the same manner, we shall find a solution to all key issues concerned with furthering the UN mission stay in Abkhazia," Shamba said at the meeting with a EU and OSCE delegation in Sukhum on Wednesday.

Prior to the EU delegation arrival, Shamba had talks with UN Secretary General Special Envoy for Georgia Johan Verbeke.

EU Special Representative for the crisis in Georgia Pierre Morel said the delegation's arrival in Abkhazia is concerned with the preparation for the third Geneva summit on security in the South Caucasus. Finland will soon hand over the OSCE presidency to Greece, and so this delegation includes Finnish representatives in the EU and OSCE.

"We retain the successiveness," Morel said.

The second round of international discussion on security in the South Caucasus was successful. "We expect that the third round on December 17-18 will be even more productive, and we are holding preliminary consultations with all participants of these discussions," he said.

Shamba confirmed that "Abkhazia received an invitation for the third summit in Geneva." "We intend to participate and intensively discuss all issues of the agenda, we have concrete and real proposals for peace in the region," he said.

Greek Special Representative for protracted conflicts in the OSCE area Charalampos Christopoulos, Greek Foreign Ministry official Alexis Katsareas, OSCE Conflict Prevention Center official Harri Kamarainen are participating in the talks with Shamba.

12.11.2008  Interfax

 Abkhazia moves troops to Georgian border

Sukhum, A regiment of the Eastern group of forces is being moved to the border with Georgia on order from supreme commander-in-chief, President of Abkhazia Sergei Bagapsh and on instruction from Defence Minister, Colonel-General Mirab Kishmariya.

The troops are moved “to perform tasks to protect public order,” Alexander Pavlushko, the Abkhazian deputy defence minister, told reporters. He said the regiment of the Eastern group of forces “will assist border troops in the protection of the state border.”

The regiment of the Eastern group of forces comprises tank units, a mortar and artillery battalions and troops with field service, said a source in the republic’s defense ministry.

“As of today, units of the Abkhazian army will be stationed in Nabakevi, Taglan and Pichora populated localities in the lower zone of the Gal district. They will interact in their daily service with units of the Russian Defence Ministry quartered in Abkhazia’s border district,” sources in the Abkhazian defence ministry stressed.

Abkhazian Defence Minister Colonel-General Mirab Kishmariya personally supervises the troop’s movement to the Gal district.

While the May 14,1994 Moscow Agreement on Ceasefire and Disengagement of Forces operated, the Gal border district was the Security Zone controlled by the Collective Peacekeeping Forces of the CIS in the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict zone. Abkhazian armed forces then had no right to be present in the zone of responsibility of the Collective Peacekeeping Forces of the CIS.

When Russian peacekeeping forces had been withdrawn from the security zone, Abkhazian structures took their place. “We will increase the number of staffers of the services and reinforce the border. This is needed as we are constantly threatened by our neighbor,” Abkhazian President Sergei Bagapsh said at a conference with the participation of representatives of the power-wielding forces in the Gal district on December 3.

12.10.2008  Itar-Tass

Belarus could recognize Abkhazia, S.Ossetia next year

Minsk, Belarus's parliament will consider Abkhazia and South Ossetia's requests for official recognition in the first half of 2009, a Belarusian lawmaker said on Wednesday.

Russia recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states on August 26 after a five-day war with Georgia, which had attacked South Ossetia to bring it back under central control. Nicaragua has so far been the only other country to recognize the republics.

A member of the Belarusian legislature's international committee confirmed to RIA Novosti that Abkhazia and South Ossetia had approached Minsk with recognition requests.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, whose country has been trying to establish a union with Russia and is dependent on Russian energy supplies, said earlier he would back parliament if it chose to recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

South Ossetia and Abkhazia have been given observer status in parliamentary sessions of the Russia-Belarus Union State.

The Caucasus conflict is the focus of a series of international talks being held in Geneva.

Abkhazia and South Ossetia have been de facto independent republics since they broke away from Georgia after the bloody post-Soviet conflicts in the early 1990s.

12.10.2008  RIA Novosti

Minsk, The House of Representatives has received appeals from Abkhazia and South Ossetia calling for the recognition of their independence, Raman Korap, a member of the lower chamber’s Committee on International Affairs and Relations within the CIS, told BelaPAN.

He failed to say when the lower chamber would discuss the appeals.

In an interview with Russia’s newspaper Vremya Novostei, Syarhey Maskevich, chairman of the standing committee, said that “it is hardly worth” rushing into a decision on the matter “but there should be no foot-dragging either.”

"If we fail to make up our mind on the matter by the New Year, I see nothing bad in this. That means that this will happen next year,” he was quoted as saying.

He promised that lawmakers would bear in mind that Belarus is Russia’s ally while considering recognizing the Moscow-backed provinces as independent.

“We treated Russia’s actions in connection with the August situation in the Caucasus with understanding. At the same time I must stress that such an important decision should be made with due regard for public sentiments. No government body will decide on the matter independently,” Mr. Maskevich said.

The House of Representatives is to hold its last plenary meeting this year on December 19 and will reconvene after the winter break on April 2.

12.10.2008  Belorusskiye Novosti

By F William Engdahl, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ministers in Brussels have decided to ignore the wishes of the United States and delay the admission of Georgia and the Ukraine, in effect indefinitely, in what the George W Bush administration is sheepishly trying to claim is a positive "compromise".
 

The decision, follows the alarm which peaked among European Union member states last August over the prospect of having to go to war with Russia over an erratic leader in the Caucasus who had provoked Moscow into a reaction.
 

The Germans have a far too deep and painful collective memory of the last war with Russia to be willing to treat the prospect as lightly as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice or Washington has. The decision deepens growing fault lines across the Atlantic, and next year will be clearly more turbulent even than 2008 in terms of global geopolitics.
 

The Brussels decision is even more remarkable if taken as indication of Washington's diminishing power over European NATO members. The NATO Foreign Ministers meeting on December 3 issued what to the naive observer might appear a masterpiece of diplomacy.
 

They unanimously agreed to sidestep the usual Membership Action Plan vote for Georgia and Ukraine, the first concrete step towards full membership of NATO. Instead, NATO will expand the activities of two existing bodies - the NATO-Georgia Commission and the NATO-Ukraine Commission - basically to oversee the same reforms as would have been contained in the action plan. NATO ministers also agreed in their communique to renew ties with Russia "in a conditional and graduated manner".
 

Translated into real political language, Washington has undergone a stunning setback in its agenda of encircling Russia with NATO. Despite the fact that president-elect Obama retained Bush Administration Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and named a person to be Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, who has strongly supported bringing Georgia and Ukraine into NATO, key European NATO members, led by Germany and France, blocked what must be a unanimous membership decision.
 

The real reasons

The real reason for the refusal is the growing realization within European officialdom that it was Georgia's unpredictable President Mikhail Saakashvili, not Moscow, who first sent Georgian troops into the breakaway province of South Ossetia, after getting a go-ahead from Washington.
 

On November 28, during Georgian official Parliamentary Commission testimony on the background to the August events, Saakashvili made the surprising announcement that he had indeed initiated the war.
 

According to Saakashvili, the attack on the South Ossetian capital, which involved night shelling of residential areas with multiple rocket launcher systems, was aimed at protecting Georgian citizens. He said it was a response to Russia's "intervention" in the region.
 

"We did start military action to take control of Tskhinval and other unruly areas. But we took this difficult decision to fend off our territory from intervention and save the people who were dying. It was inevitable," Saakashvili said.
 

The Georgian president claims Russia moved tanks into South Ossetian territory before Georgia launched its attack. He said: "The issue is not about why Georgia started military action - we admit we started it. The issue is about whether there was another chance when our citizens were being killed? We tried to prevent the intervention and fought on our own territory."
 

Saakashvili's surprising admission came only hours after the testimony of Georgia's former ambassador to Moscow, Erosi Kitsmarishvili, who had testified for three hours before he was shouted down by pro-Saakashvili members of parliament.
 

A former confidant of Saakashvili, Kitsmarishvili said Georgian officials told him in April that they planned to start a war in Abkhazia, one of two breakaway regions at issue in the war, and had received a green light from the United States government to do so. He said the Georgian government later decided to start the war in South Ossetia, the other region, and continue into Abkhazia.
 

He refused to name the officials who told him about planned actions in Abkhazia, as identifying them would endanger their lives. The official US line has been that they had "warned" Saakashvili against taking action in the two enclaves, where Russian peacekeepers were stationed.
 

Kitsmarishvili's testimony in front of the parliamentary commission was shown live on Georgian television. The chairman of the commission, Paata Davitaia, said he would initiate a criminal case against Kitsmarishvili for "professional negligence". Deputy Foreign Minister Giga Bokeria, who was called on short notice to comment on Kitsmarishvili's testimony, called the allegations an "irresponsible and shameless fabrication", adding they were "either the result of a lack of information or the personal resentment of a man who has lost his job and wants to get involved in politics". Kitsmarishvili was fired in September by the president.
 

Kitsmarishvili walked out amid the furor last week. "They don't want to listen to the truth," he told reporters. Two days later, Saakashvili proved Kitsmarishvili right.
 

Full spectrum dominance

As I detail at some length in my book, due out in January 2009, Full Spectrum Dominance: Totalitarian Democracy in the New World Order, the strategy of bringing Georgia and Ukraine into NATO is part of a far larger and more dangerous strategic long-term plan of Washington to ultimately encircle, confront and dismember Russia as a functioning state. Russia, even more than China, is the most formidable obstacle to a Washington-centered sole superpower, Pax Americana.
 

Russia's understandable refusal to abandon its nuclear strike force in the face of US violations of agreements made in 1989 between the Soviet Union's Mikhail Gorbachev and then US secretary of state James Baker III, namely that NATO would not expand east to the former states of the Warsaw Pact or USSR, presents a dilemma for any plans for sole US superpower domination.
 

The Bush presidency was a raw attempt to remedy this by brute military force. The militarization of Iraq and the Middle East oil fields was but one step. The creation of a US 'missile shield' in Poland and the Czech Republic, was another, major step.
 

The misnamed "missile defense shield" would in reality be an offensive capability that when installed by perhaps 2012, will put the world, especially Western Europe on a hair-trigger to nuclear war. When combined with the entry of Russian border states Georgia and Ukraine to NATO this would simply present Moscow with de facto defeat. This is not about Russia returning to old Soviet-style rule under Putin or Medvedev. It's about the ultimate survival of Russia as a nation, as Moscow rightly sees it, not about the finer points of democracy.
 

No one in either Berlin, Paris, London nor Brussels, and certainly not in Washington, is ignorant of that reality. European NATO members are increasingly nervous about the prospect of a military confrontation with Russia. Last August's swift Russian response to act in aid of South Ossetians against the Georgian invasion sent a reality shock through Europe. Neither Germany nor France wish to admit unstable states like Georgia or Ukraine only to be forced to act militarily in their defense in event of a repeat of the madness of last August.
 

That, simply stated, is the real, unspoken reason that Washington on December 3 in Brussels was forced to accept a face-saving compromise. The NATO membership of Georgia and Ukraine to all intent and purposes is dead. As one NATO military official stated, "NATO has lost the glue that once held it together." The statement of Rice following the NATO meeting was telling. She was forced to tell press, "... there is a long road ahead for both Georgia and Ukraine to reach those standards. The United States stands resolutely for those standards, meaning that there should be no shortcuts to membership of NATO." Rice added.
 

Polish motorcade shoot was 'Georgia stunt'

Further adding to the atmosphere of almost Laurel and Hardy comic farce surrounding Georgia's erratic president - who was filmed shortly after the Russian invasion in August by BBC actually swallowing and chewing on his tie - it has now emerged that an alleged shooting incident a week before the Brussels NATO meeting, which involved the motorcade of the Georgian and Polish presidents, was a staged "stunt".
 

Special services in Warsaw say the alleged attack near the South Ossetian border was a provocation staged by the Georgians. A report by Poland's Internal Security Agency - the Agencja Bezpieczenstwa Wewnetrznego (ABW), published by the Dziennik newspaper, claims Georgia staged the incident for propaganda purposes.
 

The incident took place on Sunday evening when Saakashvili was showing his Polish counterpart Lech Kaczynski the area near the border with South Ossetia. After the convoy stopped at a checkpoint, there was gunfire, which the Georgians claimed was an "attack by Russian troops".
 

Lech Kaczynski's personal security chief, Colonel Krzysztof Olszowiec, was accused of failing to ensure proper security for the president during his trip to Georgia and dismissed despite objections from Kaczynski, according to the Polish media.
 

The trip to the border area with Russian-backed South Ossetia was the result of a last-minute invitation from Saakashvili, according to Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman Piotr Paskowski.

Initially, Warsaw blamed Russia for the incident. But now Polish security forces say it was staged by Tbilisi. Russia had strongly denied the allegations, saying Tbilisi was behind it. President Kaczynski confirmed that shooting had taken place but stopped short of blaming anyone. Russia's position has now been supported by Poland's ABW, who said "the shots fired near the cars of Georgian and Polish president were a Georgian provocation". The Polish document points out that Saakashvili kept on smiling after the first shots and his bodyguards didn't react.
 

The report also highlights another suspicious fact, namely, that the bus carrying journalists was instructed to travel in front of the motorcade, while the car with Kaczynski's own bodyguards was pushed back by Georgian soldiers. The result was that they were not in a position to witness the alleged shooting.
 

All-in-all, it might be Saakashvili's tenure as president that faces major internal challeges over his bent for undertaking such reckless stunts.
 

F William Engdahl is author of A Century of War: Anglo-American Oil Politics (Pluto Press), and the book, Seeds of Destruction: The Hidden Agenda of Genetic Manipulation (www.globalresearch.ca). His new book, Full Spectrum Dominance: Totalitarian Democracy in the New World Order (Third Millennium Press) is due out late January 2009. He may be reached through his website, www.engdahl.oilgeopolitics.net. (Copyright 2008 F William Engdahl.)

12.09.2008  Asia Times Online

Moscow, EU observers deployed in Georgian zones adjacent to South Ossetia and Abkhazia should not be allowed access to the territory of the both republics, the Abkhazian foreign minister said Thursday.

"We have repeatedly said EU observers have a mandate to operate on Georgian territory. But this in no way concerns the territory of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, so we will not admit EU observers onto our territory," Sergei Shamba told RIA Novosti over the telephone.

AFP quoted EU observers working in Georgia as saying Thursday they will not stop their efforts to gain access to Abkhazia and South Ossetia despite Shamba's rejection of their request.

Georgia attacked South Ossetia on August 7-8 in an attempt to regain control over the republic, which, along with Abkhazia, split from Georgia in the early 1990s. In response Russia launched a military operation to repel Georgia's troops from the region, which concluded on August 12, ending up deep in Georgian territory.

In accordance with a French-brokered peace deal, Russia withdrew its forces from Georgian buffer zones ahead of an October 10 deadline. The peacekeepers were replaced by a 200-strong EU monitoring mission in Georgia. Both Abkhazia and South Ossetia have refused to allow EU observers on their territory.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in November that Russia had fully implemented the terms of the so called Medvedev-Sarkozy ceasefire plan that ended the conflict.

12.04.2008  RIA Novosti

Moscow, Georgia's attack on South Ossetia ended any chance the South Caucasus state had of bringing the republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia back under Georgian control, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.

He also said that the August attack had caused Russia to abandon any possible support for the territorial reunification of Georgia.

Russia recognized both South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states on August 26, two weeks after the end of a five-day military conflict which began when Georgian forces launched an attack on Tskhinval, the capital of South Ossetia.

"This was a crime committed not only against Russia and its citizens and the Ossetians, but also against the Georgians, against the country's statehood. A terrible blow was delivered to Georgia's territorial integrity, because if this attack had not happened, Russia would have probably continued to support efforts aimed at the territorial reunification of Georgia," Putin said in a televised question-and-answer conference.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed off on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance treaties with Abkhazia and South Ossetia in November.

Most residents of both republics, which broke away from Georgia in the early 1990s amid bloody conflicts, have had Russian citizenship for a number of years.

Under the pact, Russia has pledged to help the republics protect their borders, and the signatories have granted each other the right to set up military bases in their respective territories.

Putin also said on Thursday that the current Georgian leadership must be held responsible for August's conflict, which resulted in the loss of hundreds of lives, including Russian peacekeepers.

"Our soldiers, who were carrying out their duties under an international mandate, were attacked, and somebody certainly has to bear the responsibility for that," Putin said.

Putin added that he believed the Georgian people would "on their own" decide how to punish their leaders for taking them into the war with Russia and its subsequent "difficult and dramatic consequences."

12.04.2008  RIA Novosti