OSCE

Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia
Tbilisi, 13 August 2008

Starting from 8 August 2008 to date, the Russian Federation has been engaged in carrying out the occupation of the Georgian territory. In this process the Russian side makes an active use of illegal bandit gangs and so-called North Caucasian volunteers present in Georgia’s conflict regions.
To our great regret, representatives of Abkhazia’s separatist authorities took advantage of the escalated situation in the Tskhinvali region and, in violation of all agreements and treaties signed up to this day and with the assistance of Russian ‘peacekeepers’, made an attack on Upper Abkhazia and invaded its entire territory. Just like in the 1990s, separatists, with the support of Russian troops, conducted a mass cleansing of the local population of ethnic Georgians.

Developments are following an analogous scenario in the Tskhinvali region as well, where ethnic Georgians are slaughtered daily with utter brutality.

Minister Frattini continues to follow the situation in Georgia with close concern

Rome 10 August 2008

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Franco Frattini, continues to follow developments in Georgia with close concern. He is liaising with the Premier, Silvio Berlusconi and staying in constant contact with his colleagues in the major EU and Atlantic countries.

Minister Frattini exchanged views today, 10 August, with the French Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner, and the Finnish Foreign Minister, Alexander Stubb, in view of their mission to Tbilisi and Moscow in their roles as, respectively, President of the European Union’s Council of Ministers and current Chairman of the OSCE.

During their talks Minister Frattini stressed the need for the greatest possible cohesion between the countries of the EU on the lines proposed by the French Presidency. He also underscored the timely need for close coordination between the European countries in the United Nations Security Council, and Germany, in order to establish a common position in view of the forthcoming discussions in New York.

August 10, 5:00 pm EST

New Developments

• The last 72 hours military forces of the Russian Federation launched combined air and ground attacks on Georgian territory. This act of aggression is tantamount to an invasion and declaration of war against Georgia and comes at a time when Georgia has been trying to integrate itself with Euro-Atlantic institutions and strengthen its democracy and free market economy.
• Ukraine threatens to block Russian warships from returning to the port of Sevastopol. “Ukraine…reserves the right to bar warships and vessels which could take part in the action (conflict with Georgia) from returning to Ukrainian territory,” read a Foreign Ministry statement released on Sunday. The Russian warfleet consisting of 11 ships is deploying to the Georgian coast and holds the potential for cutting off Georgia’s access to the sea.
• Civilian infrastructure continues to be bombed with the Baku-Ceylan energy pipeline a target. Bombs missed the pipeline but further attacks are expected.
• Russians are using strategic weapons against Georgian civilian targets according to reports including Tu-22 bombers (capable of delivering nuclear missiles), and land-based cruise missiles mounted with conventional explosives. The Tu-22 can carry more than 50,000lbs of bombs.
• Russia’s 58^th Army, known as the Butchers of Chechnya, is leading the Russian assault against Georgia. This army received international condemnation for slaughtering civilians in Chechnya. Read more in the LA Times article Chechens Say Real Horror Began After Battle Ended, http://www.cdi.org/russia/Johnson/3710.html##4.
• NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Russia violated Georgia's territorial integrity in South Ossetia and employed a "disproportionate use of force."
• Russian troops continue to pour into South Ossetia. According to reports more than 6,000 soldiers including special forces, 90 tanks and 150 armored personnel carriers have passed have arrived in the last 24 hours.
• Russian tanks attempt to break out of South Ossetia and drive to the strategic Georgian city of Gori demonstrating their clear intention to take and hold Georgian territory.
• Polish, Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian Presidents condemn Russian aggression in a joint statement. “We regret that not granting of the NATO’s Membership Action Plan (MAP) to Georgia was seen as a green light for agression in the region.” http://georgiandaily.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5572&Itemid=65
• Georgian forces have withdrawn from Tskhinvali, South Ossetia.
• President Saakashvili again appeals for a cease fire to stop the bloodshed.

Paul Goble

Vienna, August 10 – The war that has broken out between the Republic of Georgia and the Russian Federation calls attention to two features of that region which Western governments have been loathe to recognize and which, having failed to acknowledge, have led those governments to make statements that help explain and are compounding a looming tragedy.

On the one hand, the conflict over South Ossetia shows that Russia is not the status quo power the United States and the Europeans have wanted to believe that it had somehow become and that it cannot be transformed into one simply by constantly suggesting that it is and including it in various institutions intended for countries who want to make the current system work.

Instead, Moscow in recent years thanks in large measure to the rise of Vladimir Putin has emerged as a revisionist power ready, willing and increasingly able to challenge the 1991 settlement, especially when any of the governments of the former Soviet republics such as Georgia has just done act in ways that open the door to Russian aggression.

And on the other hand, precisely because the U.S. and its allies take their wishes about Russia for facts, Washington and to a lesser extent the European capitals routinely have made statements to the non-Russian governments that suggest the West will back them up in any dust up with the Russians.

UPDATE 2

August 9, 5:00 pm EST

New Developments

• The last 48 hours military forces of the Russian Federation launched combined air and ground attacks on Georgian territory. This act of aggression is tantamount to an invasion and declaration of war against Georgia and comes at a time when Georgia has been trying to integrate itself with Euro-Atlantic institutions and strengthen its democracy and free market economy.
• A Russian Black Sea warfleet consisting of 11 ships is deploying to the Georgian coast off Abkhazia, another breakaway region of Georgia, on a “humanitarian” mission. This represents another dangerous escalation in their war on Georgia and threatens to cut off Georgian shipping.
• Polish, Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian Presidents condemn Russian aggression in a joint statement. “We regret that not granting of the NATO’s Membership Action Plan (MAP) to Georgia was seen as a green light for agression in the region.” http://georgiandaily.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5572&Itemid=65

Russian Invasion of Georgia

Update
August 8, 1:30 pm EST

Background

• During the last 24 hours military forces of the Russian Federation in coordination with the Russian-supported and supplied South Ossetian militia launched combined air and ground attacks on Georgian territory. This act of aggression is tantamount to an invasion and declaration of war against Georgia and comes at a time when Georgia has been trying to integrate itself with Euro-Atlantic institutions and strengthen its democracy and free market economy.
• Ground attacks by Russian and South Ossetian military forces have taken place in Tskhinvali while Russian air strikes on Georgian villages include Marneuli, Gori, Oni, Bolnisi, and Vaziani.
• The Georgian air base at Marneuli and Vaziani located just outside the capital of Tblisi has sustained heavy damage from Russian strikes that have killed Georgian military personnel as well as civilians and destroyed Georgian military aircraft.
• Russian military forces—mechanized tank and infantry units are moving from the Russian federation into South Ossetia in blatant contravention of international agreements.