Cold War II?

Back when my family and I still lived in Georgia, the only association I had with the date of September 1st was the end of my summer holidays when I, along with my peers, ran back to school first thing in the morning and resumed my studies.

Years later, it is no longer just a date that symbolizes going back to school but something rather patriotic and all the more meaningful not only to an average young pupil but on a larger scale to every Georgian residing back home and abroad.

In other words, as of today, September 1 has been declared the day of Georgian Unity.

More than 1 million people across Georgia protested Russian military action and the Kremlin's backing for the country's two separatist regions, South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Many waving the red-and-white Georgian flag, protesters linked arms in the capital, Tbilisi, in a human chain that snaked through the city under cloudy skies.

Flags flew from balconies and protesters chanted "Long Live Georgia!" and "Stop Russia!"

According to Reuters, countrywide, police said more than 1 million people took part in what authorities said was a show of unity after Russia last month crushed a Georgian bid to retake breakaway South Ossetia from pro-Moscow separatists.

By the end of the rally, the figure could not be independently confirmed by any one source, but it could arguably account for more than one-fifth of the country's 4.5 million + population.

"Today we can say Georgia is not alone because the whole world is standing beside us," President Mikheil Saakashvili told the crowd on Tbilisi's Freedom Square.

He said Monday's protest marked the largest gathering in Georgia since the country of split from the Soviet Union in 1991.

In the meantime, earlier today the European Union held an emergency summit on Georgia. Collectively shying away from any particular sanctions, the leaders decided to postpone talks on a new EU-Russia partnership scheduled for later this month if Moscow has not withdrawn its troops to pre-conflict positions in Georgia by then.

Not many, including the Russian Federation, could have imagined the small Caucasian Republic of Georgia, often confused in the US with one of the American States, taking the center stage in one of the most talked-about international upheavals in the recent period.

In fact, the conflict that swiftly escalated into a war between nations a few weeks ago in the heart of the breakaway region of South Ossetia came very close to ignited a new Cold War between the US and Russia, let alone striking a serious diplomatic dispute between a large portion of the western world and the Kremlin in Moscow.

"We are not afraid of anything, including the prospect of a new Cold War," Russian President Medvedev was quoted as saying Tuesday by the ITAR-Tass news agency. "But we don't want it and in this situation everything depends on the position of our partners."

Is it over? Not quite..... But what's next - nobody knows. And that's the scary part.

After Georgia - What's Next for US & Russia?

A clearly uneasy period for the Russian/US relations both on diplomatic and purely political grounds in full gear, as well as the US aid and that of the United Nations made readily available to Georgia, including the conflict zone of South Ossetia, as well as Gori, very few have raised the question of the future of U.S.-Russian relationship from this point onwards.

However, an article that appeared earlier today through a source at the Associated Press raises this very question yet on a rather objective note.

It may just be useful to put the undoubtedly tragic outcome of the conflict (especially for the civilians affected by the recent upheaval) and the act of placing the blame (obviously clear by now to many but a few, which does vary depending on whose "side" you're on) aside for a moment, and analyze how these recent events that took place in Ossetia and Georgia proper will influence the near future of the diplomatic and political ties between the Russian Federation and United States of America.

Just another opinion from a slightly different angle, which I thought some of you may find equally interesting:

Analysis: After Georgia, what next for US, Russia?
By ANNE GEARAN and JENNIFER LOVEN

WASHINGTON (AP) — There is blame to go around as the United States assesses the disastrous consequences of the war in Georgia.

President Bush was overconfident. Georgia's pro-American President Mikhail Saakashvili overreached. And Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin overreacted.

Now what?

Washington is trimming cooperation with Russia on several fronts, most of them military so far, while saying the loss is Russia's. Putin, clearly in charge if there was any doubt before, seems unconcerned.

But even as the White House has concluded Moscow must pay further for an out-of-bounds war with U.S.-backed Georgia, it is worried now about going too far itself.

The cost of overpunishing, Bush's advisers believe, could be to feed Russian grievance and encourage the very Cold War-style regional aggression the West decries. Bush advisers appeared startled over recent days at raw statements coming from Moscow that suggest many in the Kremlin still put a premium on maintaining or even expanding the square mileage under Moscow's control.

An even bigger cost could be the cold shoulder from Moscow the next time the U.S. needs its help.

Say, a few weeks from now when Washington wants Russia's vote for a new round of U.N. Security Council penalties against Iran for its suspected nuclear weapons program. Or perhaps if North Korea balks over the plan to get rid of its atomic bomb arsenal.

A Russian plan to host a follow-up to Bush's Mideast peace conference of last year is probably dead for now.

Russia also cannot be ignored. It is one of the Security Council's five permanent, veto-holding members, as well as an energy behemoth with business ties across the globe.

Bush helped set himself up for a fall by sounding so openly optimistic over the years about Russia's desire for full legitimacy alongside the democratic, free-press nations on the other side of the old Iron Curtain.

This crisis mushroomed far beyond what he or other Western leaders imagined. The president has tried to contain it while striking the right balance of condemnation, coercion and concern.

Bush spoke on the topic, with increasingly tough rhetoric toward a Russia he once considered a promising if imperfect partner, on five of six days this week. That's a level of public presidential attention that few crises have drawn in his eight years in office.

"Bullying and intimidation are not acceptable ways to conduct foreign policy in the 21st century," he said Friday at the White House. "Russia has put its aspirations at risk," he added Saturday from his ranch in Crawford, Texas. Further, Bush said "there's no room for debate" over whether Russia can lay claim to Moscow-loyal separatist provinces in Georgia that are at the heart of the conflict.

The White House has decided there will be further consequences for Russia, no matter whether it fully complies with a U.S.-backed cease-fire that was signed by Saakashvili on Friday and by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday.

For one thing, other nations in the region that once were Soviet republics or satellites have become nervous. Those countries need to hear world leaders tell Russia its actions in Georgia were unacceptable — and to see some bite that shows they mean it.

Bush's credentials as a self-styled global freedom fighter, particularly one who promised unflinching support to democratic Georgia and may have indirectly emboldened Saakashvili to undertake his military misadventure in one of the breakaway provinces that provoked Russia's brutal response, also are at stake.

Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain have issued tough denunciations of Russia, a signal to Moscow that the next U.S. administration will not sweep the Georgia war under the rug in the interest of a fresh start with Russia.

But Bush also still wants to make sure Russian leaders pick up the phone when America calls. The last thing U.S. officials want is a 10-year freeze in U.S.-Russia relations.

So with just five months left in office, the Bush White House has settled on an approach to punishing Moscow that would be intentionally low-profile. Bush advisers have concluded that anything perceived by Russia as a public humiliation would be counterproductive.

The best approach in their view is quiet action, such as continuing to exclude Russia's foreign minister from discussions among his counterparts from the Group of Eight industrialized democracies, as has been happening since the Russia-Georgia fighting began last week.

Most speculation had centered on outright kicking Russia out of the G-8, the elite economic club known as the Group of Seven before Russia was included a few years ago. Even such a public, more dramatic move would likely have little practical effect given the group's lack of power to enforce policies.

Another option would have the United States revoke its support for Russia's entry into the World Trade Organization, another penalty that, although probably the toughest available to the U.S., may not sting much for increasingly oil-rich Russia. U.S. officials have all but rejected that route as overkill.

The idea is to give Russia face-saving leeway to decide that Western institutions and Western-style governance are the way of its future.

The trick, of course, is convincing Russia of that — a task that puts U.S. officials in the position of trying to get Russia back on a path it may never have been fully on.

The Bush administration believes its best argument is economic, essentially telling Moscow that to remain a country that merely sells gobs of energy worldwide but lacks international prestige and access to lucrative markets for a range of products would mire it in third-world status, rather than the first-world rank it desires.

True, perhaps, but also evidence that the administration has reduced its Russia calculus to self-interest on both sides. Rice said as much before leaving for Europe and Georgia this week. Russia will cooperate on Iran and other issues for its own reasons, she said. "It's not a favor to the United States."

Both Sides of the Conflict: S. Ossetia

Dear Friends,

First of all, thank you so much to each and every one of you for your warm support and prayers at this difficult time for my home country of Georgia, that I so value and appreciate it. I have read every single message and comment from you and am so touched by your words.

As you have shown so much interest and genuine care for what is happening at the moment in Ossetia, and although many of you will understand where my heart truly lies at this very tough time, I have decided to share these two very opposing and varying opinions about the current situation and the conflict itself, therefore giving those of you interested in the story a more or less two-sided picture as of now....

Based on the latest reports

Bush says violence in Georgia is unacceptable



By BEN FELLER – 1 hour ago



BEIJING (AP) — President Bush on Monday sharply criticized Moscow's harsh military crackdown in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, saying the violence is unacceptable and Russia's response is disproportionate.

The United States is waging an all-out campaign to press Russia to halt its retaliation against Georgia for trying to take control of the breakaway province of South Ossetia.
Bush, in an interview with NBC, said, "I've expressed my grave concern about the disproportionate response of Russia and that we strongly condemn the bombing outside of South Ossetia."

On Sunday, Vice President Dick Cheney said that "Russian aggression must not go unanswered, and that its continuation would have serious consequences for its relations with the United States."

The crisis over South Ossetia appeared to ebb as Georgian troops began retreating and honoring a cease-fire, a claim Russia disputed. U.S. officials said Moscow was only broadening its retaliation against Georgia for trying to take control of the region.
The sheer scope of Russia's military response has the Bush administration deeply worried. Russia on Sunday expanded its bombing blitz in areas of Georgia not central to the fighting.

Cheney spoke Sunday afternoon with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, Cheney press secretary Lee Ann McBride said. "The vice president expressed the United States' solidarity with the Georgian people and their democratically elected government in the face of this threat to Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity," McBride said.

Asked to explain Cheney's phrase "must not go unanswered," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said, "It means it must not stand." White House officials refused to indicate what recourse the United States might have if the military onslaught continues.

A Russian official said more than 2,000 people had been killed in South Ossetia since Friday; the figure could not be confirmed independently.

The president was to end his weeklong stay to Asia by attending a baseball game and other events Monday at the Beijing Olympics. The trip was meant mostly for fun and games — there have been plenty of both. But the fast-moving conflict in Georgia has grabbed his attention.

Bush, pressing international mediation, reached out Sunday to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who heads the European Union. The two agreed on the need for a cease-fire and a respect for Georgia's integrity, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

In Washington, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said the United States must work closely with Europe in condemning Russia's actions.

"We cannot just go out alone on this and talk and act unilaterally. We don't have much impact, I believe, in terms of our unilateral declarations anymore with the administration's approach to the world," said Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich. "We've got to stand together with European allies."

Georgia, whose troops have been trained by American soldiers, began an offensive to regain control over South Ossetia overnight Friday, launching heavy rocket and artillery fire and air strikes that pounded the provincial capital, Tskhinvali. In response, Russia launched overwhelming artillery shelling and air attacks on Georgian troops.

"We're alarmed by this entire situation, and every escalatory step is a further problem," deputy national security adviser Jim Jeffrey told reporters.

The U.S. military began flying 2,000 Georgian troops home from Iraq after Georgia recalled the soldiers following the outbreak of fighting with Russia. The decision was a timely payback for the former Soviet republic that has been a staunch U.S. supporter and agreed to send troops to Iraq as part of the U.S.-led coalition. Georgia was the third-largest contributor of coalition forces after the U.S. and Britain, and most of its troops were stationed near the Iranian border in southeastern Iraq.

The risk of the conflict setting off a wider war increased when Russian-supported separatists in another breakaway region of Georgia, Abkhazia, launched air and artillery strikes on Georgian troops to drive them out of a small part of the province they control.

Also, Ukraine warned Russia it could bar Russian navy ships from returning to their base in the Crimea because of their deployment to Georgia's coast.

"If those Russian ships leave that port in the Black Sea and if Ukraine decides that it is not going to allow those ships back into that port ... that is a potentially much greater conflagration involving a wider regional area," Levin said.

The White House sought to reassure that the administration — including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen — were talking to parties on both sides and trying for a diplomatic solution.

Asked about the possibility of sending the U.S. military or other aid to Georgia, Jeffrey said, "Right now our focus is on working with both sides, with the Europeans and with a whole variety of international institutions and organizations to get the fighting to stop."

Levin, too, did not see the chance of U.S. military involvement, though he said the U.S. needs to make clear to Russia that its action "is way out of line."

Bush also tended to relations with China, again raising raised concerns to President Hu Jintao about how the host of the summer Olympics treats its own people.

Bush worshipped at a Beijing church and declared China has nothing to fear from expressions of faith. The message had the added punch of coming on China's turf, as Bush has done before.

He managed time for a couple of marquee sporting events. With first lady Laura Bush, daughter Barbara and former President George H.W. Bush, he cheered from the stands of the Water Cube Olympic swimming venue. American Michael Phelps claimed the first of an expected string of gold medals by smashing his own world record in the 400-meter individual medley.

"God, what a thrill to cheer for you!" Bush told Phelps afterward.

At night, Bush watched the eagerly anticipated U.S.-China men's basketball game.
Before the contest, he huddled with U.S. players in a corridor of the Olympic arena, putting his hand in with theirs and joining in a cheer, "One, two, three, U.S.A., go!"

Associated Press writers Mark S. Smith and Paul Alexander contributed to this report.



*Interview by Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation *
*Sergey Lavrov to BBC, Moscow, August 9, 2008*



*Question*: What is Russia's aim in South Ossetia?

*S.Lavrov*: Russia's aim is to keep peace. This is not just Russia's aim, this is Russia's obligation. Russian peacekeepers have been brought there under the agreement between the parties after the war which started in the early nineties. The late President Gamsakhurdia who was the leader of Georgia at that time declared his policy "Georgia for Georgians". He cancelled autonomies of Southern Ossetia, Adjaria and of Abkhazia. He brought his troops into these areas and then the resistance took place. And Georgian army was wiped out of those regions. It was then that after quite nervous and intense negotiations a peacekeeping mechanism was established comprising Georgians, Ossetians and Russians. The peacekeeping force was established and this peacekeeping force has a mandate. The mandate is to make sure that there is no violation of quiet in the zone of conflict and the peacekeepers are required by this document to prevent any violations and to put out any violations. Since Georgian forces for the second time are engaged in aggressive actions in full violation of the obligations under those international agreements and international humanitarian law by attacking civilians, residential quarters, humanitarian convoys, attacking the convoys trying to remove the wounded from the area of the fighting and even, by some reports, finishing off the wounded. So this is absolutely unacceptable and the responsibility of Russia as a peacekeeper could be only sustained by responding to this aggression.

*Question*: Does not Georgia then have the right to control its entire territory?

*S.Lavrov*: Absolutely. Absolutely, but Georgia after it attacked, as I said, its own regions in the early nineties, accepted that there would be international mechanisms to keep peace in Ossetia and in Abkhazia but not to perpetuate the situation. In both cases international negotiating mechanism has been established with the participation of Georgia, which unfortunately for the last couple of years the Georgian government has been consistently ignoring and asking for something else. You know that people say now "Let's announce immediate ceasefire". But ceasefire was announced two days ago only to be violated by the Georgian forces. The ceasefire is something, which you use when the war has started already. But for the last few months Russia alone has been trying to persuade the Georgian government to deliver on this commitment and to sign a legally binding document not to use force in the Southern Ossetian conflict. This was an arrangement tempted to be agreed a year and a half ago within the Joint Control Commission between the Georgians and the Southern Ossetians. And then the Georgians violated this commitment and refused to sign such a document&183; Mr. Saakashvili recently said: "It is ridiculous to ask us to do this because Georgia will never use force against its own people. As simple as that." And unfortunately our western friends who one way or another participate in the efforts to settle this conflict were also reluctant to pressure Tbilisi in order to have this legally binding document happen.

*Question*: Mr.Saakashvili's Administration is very close to the United States. Do you think their closeness in some way took blame for this flare up in the conflict? Do you think the US could have done more to prevent this happening?

*S.Lavrov:* You know, I talked yesterday to Secretary Rice and we discussed what we could do, especially since during the last few months' short of blank pressure on Tbilisi to sign this document, I believe the Americans were trying quite hard to prevent lodge*.* And from indirect information we are getting from Washington we understand that people involved in this issue have been really shocked by what Mr.Saakashvili has started. So we encourage the United States, we encourage the EU members – we talked yesterday to quite a number of colleagues from France, Germany, Mr.Javier Solana, our Finnish friend, who is the head of the OSCE now, and we explained our position. We can not allow peace agreements just to be violated this way. And whatever it takes to bring the situation to status quo ante would be done. You know that peacekeepers are being killed including by Georgian peacekeepers, who used to serve together with them in one contingent and who were supposed to be united by the common goal agreed on paper officially by both sides.

*Question*: How far is Russia prepared to go in this quest to restore the status quo?

*S.Lavrov*: Mr.Saakashvili keeps saying that we want to chop off part of Georgian territory. He is also saying this is not about Georgia, this is about the future of Europe. He says that Russia is also making territorial claims to other countries, including the Baltic states. This is rubbish because it is exactly the other way around as far as the Baltic States are concerned. Some of them have territorial claims to Russia, at least some politicians of those countries. But Russia wants to sign the border treaty with Estonia which is the last remaining Baltic State, with which we do not have such a border treaty. It is exactly because of Estonian politicians' territorial claims to Russia that we can not do this. But our goal is very simple. We want to act strictly within the mandate given to the Russian peacekeepers and this mandate provides for the zone of conflict to be freed from any illegal armed groups except for peacekeepers themselves and the zone of conflict must keep the regime of protecting civilians. When civilians at this zone, when the peacekeepers' forces in the zone of conflict are attacked from outside of course those sides from which the attacks are launched, we should not feel safe, that is for sure.

*Question*: So you would pick up targets in Georgia if you feel that is within Russia's interests?

*S.Lavrov*: No, no. I was very clear when I said so. Do not interpret in that way.

*Question*: I am just trying to understand.

*S.Lavrov*: When the peacekeepers are inside the zone of conflict, the civilians whom the peacekeepers must protect are in the zone of conflict when the civilians' side is bombed, is shelled from outside the source of this attack must be targeted, so that this massacre is not repeated. About 15 hundred civilians have been killed by some count which is being verified now. At least 15 Russian peacekeepers are dead. Some 50 are wounded. There are reports, as I said, that the wounded peacekeepers are finished off by the Georgians, which is a gross violation of all Geneva conventions and the international humanitarian law. And I would just say that people in Europe, people in the West should not perceive it differently. We had been for last months if not years not only preaching for the signature of this non-use of force document&183; We have also been drawing the attention of our colleagues to the facts of Georgia buying offensive arms in contradiction to OSCE recommendations, in contradiction to the EU recommendations which provide for at least caution in selling arms to the areas of conflict. Offensive arms have been brought to Georgia in very big numbers. Some countries to whom we talked realized the negative potential effect of this action and they stopped it. Some others do not. I do not want to go up to the details, but some countries did so, but some others did not. And as a result of this we have Georgian military budget having increased I think 30 times over the last three years, which is being an all-time record. When Mr.Saakashvili says that Georgia by international standards is a number one democracy in the world, I believe that this is still to be checked. But Georgia is for sure number one arms importer of the world. And now we see these arms being put in action to the detriment of all the civilians, many of whom are Russian citizens. And we frankly speaking can not avoid noticing that those who ignored our warnings and who were selling offensive arms to Georgia, those who ignored all warnings and did not impress the need to sign this non-use of force agreement on the Georgian government, I think they should be at least part of the responsibility for what is going on. Especially as Mr.Saakashvili is talking on TV every now and then at the background not only of the Georgian flag, but also of the EU flag.* *I asked yesterday the representative of the EU presidency, whether this was the practice for the EU flag to be used by whoever basically wants to use it and the answer was "no". I was told that they would look into the legal aspects of the problem.

My President yesterday was very clear. He said that under the Constitution he is obliged to protect the life and dignity of Russian citizens, especially when they find themselves in the armed conflict. And today he reiterated that the peace enforcement operation enforcing peace on one of the parties which violated its own obligations would continue until we achieve the results. According to our Constitution there is also responsibility to protect – the term which is very widely used in the UN when people see some trouble in Africa or in any remote part of other regions. But this is not Africa to us, this is next door. This is the area, where Russian citizens live. So the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the laws of the Russian Federation make it absolutely unavoidable to us to exercise responsibility to protect.

*Question*: You offered passports to the citizens of another countries not just part of a campaign of antagonism you have had to Georgia over last year?

*S.Lavrov*: No, no. I believe, they understand the reason for this. When the Soviet Union collapsed, Russia found itself in a very awkward position. Some 25 million people who used to be the citizens of the Soviet Union, overnight found that they are living in a foreign country. And Parliament of the Russian Federation in 1991 adopted the law saying that whoever was a holder of a Soviet passport has the right to become a Russian citizen. And since about the same time the then Georgian President Mr. Gamsarhurdia started this "Georgia for Georgians" campaign and antagonized Ossetians, Adjarians, Abkhazians, they ran to Russia for passports, for citizenship. That is how it started. And when this conflict was brought from the hot phase into the frozen phase, these people were still deprived of elementary social services and as Russian citizens they had the right to be provided with pensions, salaries and elementary things. So I believe this is not something, which is not understood. And when people try to blow this particular aspect of the situation – the Russian passports in Ossetia and Abkhazia – out of proportion, I always remind them about a situation in a different country, in Moldova, where huge proportion of the population is getting Romanian citizenship and the EU is quiet.

*Question*: You mentioned there was a sense of shock in Washington on the way that things have developed. Given of this situation is so unpredictable aren't you concerned you are involved in a major conflict with a country which is a would be NATO-member and a very close-eye of you former cold-war foe, Washington.

*S.Lavrov*: If NATO is ready to welcome such a regime in its ranks, it would be interesting to see how this is done. I do not think we are on a brink of a war. We are limited in all our actions to do things. Responsibility to protect our citizens under the Russian constitution and the responsibilities of the peacekeepers to keep this particular case when peace was raped to restore peace. Peace is required and that is what we are going to achieve but we would not go beyond this.

*Question*: It is not a secret there has been great antagonism between particularly this country Administration in Tbilisi and Moscow for the last few years. Isn't it the truth, but you just do not like this regime, you do not like them to join NATO and in this conflict you want to teach them a lesson?

*S.Lavrov*: In 2006 what happened was that four Russian officers who came to Georgia to oversee the withdrawal of the Russian military bases, which Georgia wanted so much, were without any reason grossly attacked and humiliated. So if you want us to like people who did it, I do not think we will. If you want us to like people who started this aggression in Southern Ossetia killing Russian peacekeepers, I do not think we would be positively considering the offer. Actually speaking of the current government in Georgia I mentioned the withdrawal of the Russian military bases. I negotiated this issue personally in 2005 with President Saakashvili and at that particular format Russia was saying that we need many years to withdraw. And a lot of money to pay for this withdrawal. And Mr.Saakashvili said to me when I visited Tbilisi in 2005 that he wanted this bases out before his next elections, so that he could present to his electorate the results of the efficiency of his policy. I reported to then President Putin, this was discussed in the Russian Security Council and not an easy decision, from the point of view of domestic audience*,* was taken to withdraw in 2,5 years. Just as Mr.Saakashvili wanted, six months before his elections. And we delivered even in advance, before the deadline the Russian bases were out. In spite of that fact those who were engaged in the withdrawal procedures were grossly attacked and humiliated, as I said, in 2006. An interesting thing is that part of that arrangement which I negotiated was to be delivered by our Georgian colleagues. And the package contained three elements: one – Russia withdraws totally from Georgia, number two – Georgia adopts a constitutional law prohibiting, proscribing the presence of any foreign basis on Georgian soil forever, number three – Russia and Georgia together establish a joint counter-terrorist center, because the issue of Georgian territory being used by people from Northern Caucasus to come and then to go back to Russia - this issue was quite topical. So we withdraw our bases, they undertake not to have any foreign bases and we jointly create counter- terrorist center. These were the three elements of the package. We delivered and they just forgot about their obligations. So we have experience of dealing with this government and I believe we have an objective picture of it.

*Question*: Now could this conflict end without further bloodshed? There are reports that more troops are sent in.

*S.Lavrov*: They have a mandate to liberate the zone of conflict from violators. Whatever it takes we would do. To stop this is for the Commander-in-chief of the Georgian army, to give orders to his troops to withdraw from the area they illegally occupied. Then of course it would be not necessary to use peace enforcement to achieve this goal. And then I would come again to the thing which I mentioned in the beginning that a non-use of force legally binding document with international guarantees would be signed which I would strongly recommend.

*Question*: Am I right in understanding you that Georgian army was shooting Russian wounded dead?

*S.Lavrov*: Yes. That's the reports we are getting and we are verifying them.

*Question*: So that if this is the case and that is clearly a war crime.

*S.Lavrov*: Yes. And the President of the Russian Federation said that those who are responsible for it should be brought to justice and we would be considering using the international law proceedings.

P.S. From Tinatin: Let's just hope for a peaceful resolution and the end to all of this before it gets a little too out of control.....One way or another, that's all that really matters.

Human Rights Watch on Georgia/Russia in South Ossetia

I have just received this press release from the Human Rights Watch and since you have all been so attentive and caring in regards to this horrible conflict escalating by the day, I've decided to post a copy of the HRW release for those of you interested in both sides of the story.... taking into account the two varying sides only when it comes to the civilians - unjustly affected by this mayhem.

For Immediate Release:

Georgia/Russia: Do Not Attack Civilians in South Ossetia

New York, August 9, 2008 – Georgia and Russia should not under any circumstances target civilians as the current hostilities intensify in South Ossetia, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch, concerned by reports of attacks targeting civilians, called on all sides to respect the absolute ban against targeting civilians or carrying out attacks that indiscriminately harm civilians.

“All sides must remember that attacks on civilians, or acts intended to terrorize civilians, clearly violate international humanitarian law, and may constitute war crimes,” said Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “This would be true even if they are carried out in reprisal for indiscriminate attacks by the adversary.”

After weeks of low-level hostilities, the conflict in South Ossetia, a breakaway region of Georgia backed by Moscow, escalated dramatically in the early morning of August 8, 2008. Georgia declared that it intended to restore constitutional order and launched a large-scale military offensive. Russia sent additional troops to South Ossetia, saying they were reinforcements to Russian peacekeepers who are in the area to monitor a 1992 ceasefire between Georgian and South Ossetian forces.

South Ossetia authorities claimed that Georgian forces used Grad multiple launch rocket systems to shell civilian areas, particularly in the capital, Tskhinvali, and that dozens of buildings were destroyed or damaged, including the university, the hospital, a shopping center, schools, and several government buildings. According to unconfirmed media reports, several Ossetian villages, including Dmenis and Tsunar, also sustained significant damage.

Reports on casualties vary widely, with different media agencies citing figures ranging from 15 to 1,400 people killed in South Ossetia as a result of the attacks. None of these reports could be confirmed.

According to the Russian Federal Migration Service, 971 people fled South Ossetia on August 8 and sought refuge in North Ossetia, a Russian province that borders South Ossetia. North Ossetian hospitals reported that they were ready to admit the wounded; but the head of the regional hospital was quoted by Kavkazskii Uzel, a news website, as saying that, “the road which was intended for evacuation of the wounded has been bombed,” and doctors did not have access to the wounded.

Russia’s military command claimed that 12 Russian peacekeepers deployed in South Ossetia were killed and 120 injured, and also blamed the Georgian side for obstructing the evacuation of the wounded from Tskhinvali.

In the meantime, according to the BBC and other international media, Russian tanks have reportedly reached the northern suburbs of Tskhinvali while the Russian air force has been carrying out air raids in South Ossetia and further into Georgian territory. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili accused Moscow of bombing Georgian air bases and towns, resulting in the deaths of 30 military personnel and civilians.

Human Rights Watch called on both parties to abide by the fundamental principle of international humanitarian law, which requires armed forces to distinguish between combatants and civilians, and between military objects and civilian objects, at all times. It is also forbidden to carry out indiscriminate attacks or attacks that cause damage disproportionate to the anticipated concrete military advantage.

South Ossetia was an autonomous province of Georgia during the Soviet era. It declared independence from Georgia in 1990, and armed conflict between South Ossetian and Georgian forces ensued in 1991 and 1992. The conflict ended in 1992 with a ceasefire and establishment of a tripartite peacekeeping force, with Russian, Ossetian and Georgian peacekeeping battalions. The ceasefire adhered, but tensions continued, with Georgia accusing Russia of providing assistance to South Ossetia’s separatist movement.

For a background Q&A on the current conflict in South Ossetia, please visit:
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/08/08/georgi19577.htm

For more of Human Rights Watch’s work on Georgia, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/doc?t=europe&c=georgi

On Georgia Today

Many people underestimate the value of real human relationships we make with our online "virtual" friends on websites such as Myspace, but at times when that "human factor" is much needed, somehow the line between online and offline friendships is so blurred - it becomes too minuscule a difference.

With the most recent escalation of conflict back in my home country, Georgia (Georgia the country, not the state, remember that blog post early on? :-) and the growing interest of western media about the events taking place in Southern Ossetia, I - among many, many Georgian expatriates witnessed the genuine concern of the westerners, and in my particular case - the friends that I have recently made on Myspace have really demonstrated such heart-felt support and interest in the current events... It's staggering and heart warming. Thank you all so much for your sweet messages and concern.

Years after Southern Ossetia along with another Georgian region - Abkhazia - declared their independence from Georgia in the mid 90's, Georgia's President Mikhail Saaakashvili has vowed to bring both regions back into the fold. Over the past several months, the tensions between Moscow and Tbilisi have increased most significantly and the fighting has intensified - most recently, since earlier this week - even more so, as most of you may already know.

World leaders and international organizations, including the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the UN Security Council, have been actively calling for an end to the fighting in Georgia's de facto breakaway region, South Ossetia, but unfortunately as we have seen the news unfold throughout the day, the conflict is only escalating at a significant rate.

And with governments of Georgia, Russia and the de facto leadership of the de facto region of South Ossetia aside, civilians are truly the ones least deserving of this nightmare. While all parties are eagerly blaming each other, the ordinary civilians are being affected by the fighting not only in Ossetia, but even, for example, in the capital of Georgia - having spoken to my family back home last night, they voiced their worries about the younger male members of my family being forced by this current situation to join the local troops to fight in Ossetia... Scary... And unpredictable....

One wonders if this is just the beginning of something even more complicated and frightening due to all the political mayhem... And who gets stuck in the middle of it? People... People who want nothing more but to live in peace in their own homes with their family members all being well and alive.

As my compatriots and I keep our fingers crossed for a peaceful solution to this long-term conflict that has been going on for ages now, let's just hope it really doesn't get much worse before it's too late...

And thank you all once again, dear friends, for your thoughts and care - being born in Georgia and having moved to Russia quite early on, I can't help but feel torn and extremely uneasy about this, hoping somehow the international interference brings the right kind of resolution to this newly enraged... No, don't want to say the word "war".