Georgia

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Russia Recognizes Georgia's Breakaway Regions

Thumbs nose at West's pleas

(Newser) - Thumbing its nose at the West, Russia has officially recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Dmitry Medvedev announced today, following votes in the Russian parliament. The move flies in the face of a plea from President Bush that Russia refrain from doing so, and the US State Department’...

Russian MPs Back Georgian Separatists

Medvedev calls possible split with NATO 'no great loss'

(Newser) - Russian lawmakers voted unanimously today to recognize the independence of two Georgian breakaway regions, leaving the final decision to President Dmitry Medvedev, the Independent reports. The move threatens to further strain Russian-Western relations as Russian troops remained in Georgia with orders to inspect all shipments arriving at a Black Sea...

Cheney Set to Visit Georgia
 Cheney Set
 to Visit
 Georgia

Cheney Set to Visit Georgia

VP to shore up ties with embattled nation, emphasize 'common security interests'

(Newser) - Dick Cheney will visit Georgia next week to strengthen ties with the battered US ally, the AP reports. The vice president will also visit Azerbaijan and Ukraine to emphasize the US commitment to the former Soviet republics, a White House spokesman said today in announcing the trip, which is to...

Germany Is Crux of Russia Talks
 Germany Is Crux of Russia Talks
Analysis

Germany Is Crux of Russia Talks

Merkel could be valuable go-between

(Newser) - A fretful Eastern Europe is hoping Germany can play a key diplomatic role in its stare-down with Russia, the New York Times reports. Until recently, relations between Moscow and Berlin were too cozy for the Caucasus’ tastes, but East German-born Angela Merkel has distanced herself from Russia just enough to...

US Aid Ship Arrives in Georgia
 US Aid Ship Arrives in Georgia

US Aid Ship Arrives in Georgia

(Newser) - A US Navy warship carrying humanitarian aid anchored at the Georgian port of Batumi today, sending a strong signal of support to an embattled ally as Russian forces built up around two separatist regions. But a top Russian general suggested that the presence of US and other NATO ships in...

Russia Keeps Troops in Poti
 Russia Keeps Troops in Poti  

Russia Keeps Troops in Poti

(Newser) - Russia says it will continue to patrol the key Black Sea port of Poti despite Western demands that it pull back to pre-conflict positions, Reuters reports. A Russian general said troops will continue "peacekeeping" operations there even though the city falls outside the perimeter agreed upon in the recent...

Russians Pull Back, But West Not Satisfied

'Peacekeeping' posts appear likely to remain on Georgian soil

(Newser) - Having withdrawn from the Georgian city of Gori, Russia said tonight it is in full compliance with a cease-fire agreement, the New York Times reports. Despite criticism from the US and France, nations that helped broker the deal, Moscow continues to occupy the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia,...

Post-Soviet States No Longer Russian Puppets
Post-Soviet States No Longer Russian Puppets
analysis

Post-Soviet States No Longer Russian Puppets

Reactions to Georgia show self-interest

(Newser) - Former cold warriors can be expected to see the Georgian conflict as signalling a return to simpler East-vs-West geopolitics, writes Bridget Kendall for the BBC. But the reaction of the post-Soviet states shows something very different: Former Soviet client states whose loyalty was assured 20 years ago—including Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan,...

Russian Troops Leave Gori
 Russian Troops Leave Gori

Russian Troops Leave Gori

Georgian officials say pullout really happening

(Newser) - Russian troops are finally leaving Gori, Georgian officials said today, with Russia promising that by tomorrow all Russian ground forces would be confined to South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Russia intends to keep more than 2,000 troops stationed in the breakaway regions, which Georgia decries as unlawful “annexation.”...

Russia Roars, NATO Purrs
 Russia Roars,
 NATO Purrs
Opinion

Russia Roars, NATO Purrs

Alliance needs to step up and protect Eastern Europe

(Newser) - Russia had better watch its back. NATO has proven that if it goes around invading its neighbors, the world’s mightiest alliance will take action and…er… cancel the next NATO-Russia Council meeting. That’s the lone consequence NATO put forth in its statement on the “situation in Georgia,...

Russia Returns Favor, Cuts Off NATO Council

Alliance earlier stopped 'business as usual' over Georgia invasion

(Newser) - Russia formally suspended military cooperation with NATO today over Georgia, the Guardian reports, a move affecting operations in Afghanistan and the Mediterranean. “Cooperation had really already been ended with the Russians,” a US official said, per an alliance declaration earlier in the week. If NATO supports “the...

Stocks Mixed as Oil Surges
 Stocks Mixed as Oil Surges 
MARKETS

Stocks Mixed as Oil Surges

Georgian conflict raises supply fears; analysts downgrade financials

(Newser) - Stocks saw mixed results today as the Dow and S&P 500 managed to claw back from early losses due to surging oil and a weak dollar, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow closed up 12.78 at 11,430.21; the Nasdaq fell 8.70 to 2,380....

Gergiev to Lead Defiant South Ossetia Concert

London Symphony's principal conductor hails Russian victory

(Newser) - Valery Gergiev, the principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, among other prominent posts, will preside over a victorious concert tonight in South Ossetia, celebrating Russia’s recent military successes, theTimes reports. Gergiev is an ethnic Ossetian and close personal friend of Vladimir Putin—they are godfathers of each others’...

Nuke Advantage Emboldened Putin's Russia
Nuke Advantage Emboldened Putin's Russia
OPINION

Nuke Advantage Emboldened Putin's Russia

US disarmament partly to blame for Georgia war, says Schoenfeld

(Newser) - Diplomats and pundits have debated what led Russia to attack Georgia so forcefully, pointing to everything from newfound economic strength to a sense of national humiliation. But Gabriel Schoenfeld, editor at neoconservative magazine Commentary, has another explanation: it's Russia's growing nuclear advantage, especially with short-range arms, that has "helped...

Russia's 'Buffer Zone' Includes Georgia Territory

Moscow moves closer to recognizing breakaway enclaves

(Newser) - Russia may soon officially recognize the sovereignty of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, lawmakers said today, even as the military moved to establish so-called buffer zones that include Georgian territory, the Wall Street Journal reports. Then-president Vladimir Putin used the move to recognize the secessionist republics to criticize countries which did...

Gorbachev: Blame Georgia
 Gorbachev: Blame Georgia
OPINION

Gorbachev: Blame Georgia

Former Soviet leader blasts one-sided America coverage

(Newser) - It is important to remember that Georgia, not Russia, struck first in the conflict over South Ossetia, writes former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev for the New York Times. Russian leadership is strong domestically and did not need a victory to rally support—rather, Moscow “was dragged into the fray...

McCain Forgets That Big Talk Can Cost Lives
McCain Forgets That Big Talk Can Cost Lives
OPINION

McCain Forgets That Big Talk Can Cost Lives

Cold War should have taught US leaders not to encourage ill-fated gambles like Georgia's

(Newser) - Many in Georgia are angered over what they consider broken promises of support from the West in the confrontation with Russia. But it’s bold talk from US politicians—including hardliner John McCain—that encourages countries like Georgia to provoke Moscow, David Ignatius writes in the Washington Post, only to...

Shunning Won't Work: Invite Russia to Join NATO
Shunning Won't Work:
Invite Russia to Join NATO
OPINION

Shunning Won't Work: Invite Russia to Join NATO

Increased engagement with the bear will avert more crises: Meier

(Newser) - The kneejerk impulse to punish Russia for its Georgia incursion by withdrawing NATO civilities is exactly wrong, Andrew Meier writes in the Los Angeles Times. The only way the West can get leverage, given the case of nerves the Russians have over NATO’s expansion into former Soviet states, is...

US Chooses Georgia Over Russia at Its Own Risk
US Chooses Georgia Over Russia at Its Own Risk
OPINION

US Chooses Georgia Over Russia at Its Own Risk

Russian minister blasts misguided US

(Newser) - The US should quit blaming Russia for starting the war in Georgia, writes Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the Wall Street Journal, and think hard before backing Tbilisi to the detriment of relations with Moscow. Georgia's "ruthless military assault" in South Ossetia forced the hand of Russia. "...

Russia Blocks UN Effort to End Georgia War

Moscow refuses call to withdraw troops to pre-conflict lines

(Newser) - Russia has rejected a draft Security Council resolution seeking to end the violence in Georgia, reports the BBC, by rejecting the UN body's call to return to its pre-conflict positions. Russia, which wants to keep its troops inside South Ossetia, said that the clause contradicts last week's ceasefire. Moscow holds...

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