In This Article
30-Second Summary
Headline Links: ‘Attacks on Georgia continue despite Russian president’s calls to halt’
Background: Tensions between Georgia and Russia mount in April
Opinion & Analysis: How serious is the conflict?
Related Topics: Russia upset over U.S. missile defense plans; the ‘color revolutions’
Reference: Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia
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Musa Sadulayev/AP
A column of Russian tanks rolls near the town of Dzhava in the separatist Georgian
province of South Ossetia, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008. (AP)
A column of Russian tanks rolls near the town of Dzhava in the separatist Georgian
province of South Ossetia, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008. (AP)
Russia Orders End to Fighting, But Hostilities Continue in Georgia
August 12, 2008 11:13 AM
by
Josh Katz
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called for an end to fighting in the five-day mini-war that has has racked Georgia.
30-Second Summary
Although Russia has declared an end to the fighting, Georgia claims that its villages are still under attack. According to The Guardian, “There were also separate reports today of witnesses seeing 135 military vehicles driving through Georgia towards the other separatist province of Abkhazia.”
Medvedev said a final settlement could occur only if Georgian troops pulled back to their preliminary positions, were “partly demilitarised,” and there was “a binding agreement on the non-use of force.” Georgian Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze said the country’s military will remain ready for action until a binding agreement is reached.
On August 7, Georgia responded to opposition in South Ossetia by launching a military offensive to assert control over the region. Russia says it sent in its military to defend Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia after several died in the Georgian offensive.
During the five-day conflict, Russia earned international criticism for bombing the Georgian capital of Tbilisi and launched air strikes on the Georgian military and transportation center of Gori, where Russian troops are amassing, in addition to battling the Georigan military in South Ossetia where the fighting began.
On Russian television, Medvedev said his military had punished Georgia for its aggressive actions and had protected civilians and Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia.
The conflict stems from the separatist unrest Georgia faced in Abkhazia and South Ossetia following the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 1993, Georgian troops were forced out of the region, and Russia has tacitly supported Georgian opposition movements ever since. Russia has also pressured other members of NATO to deny Georgia membership.
Medvedev said a final settlement could occur only if Georgian troops pulled back to their preliminary positions, were “partly demilitarised,” and there was “a binding agreement on the non-use of force.” Georgian Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze said the country’s military will remain ready for action until a binding agreement is reached.
On August 7, Georgia responded to opposition in South Ossetia by launching a military offensive to assert control over the region. Russia says it sent in its military to defend Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia after several died in the Georgian offensive.
During the five-day conflict, Russia earned international criticism for bombing the Georgian capital of Tbilisi and launched air strikes on the Georgian military and transportation center of Gori, where Russian troops are amassing, in addition to battling the Georigan military in South Ossetia where the fighting began.
On Russian television, Medvedev said his military had punished Georgia for its aggressive actions and had protected civilians and Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia.
The conflict stems from the separatist unrest Georgia faced in Abkhazia and South Ossetia following the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 1993, Georgian troops were forced out of the region, and Russia has tacitly supported Georgian opposition movements ever since. Russia has also pressured other members of NATO to deny Georgia membership.
Headline Links: ‘Attacks on Georgia continue despite Russian president’s calls to halt’
Although Russia said it had ceased its military offensive against Georgia, there have been reports of the attack in Georgian areas beyond South Ossetia. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev “said a full settlement of the conflict could only be reached if Georgian troops returned to their initial positions, were ‘partly demilitarised’, and there was ‘a binding agreement on the non-use of force.’”
Source: The Guardian
On Monday, August 11, The New York Times wrote: “The pivotal question in the conflict, which has involved heavy fighting since late last week, is now whether Russia—which has poured troops into both Abkhazia and South Ossetia—will push beyond these regions and further into Georgia.”
Source: The New York Times (free registration may be required)
On Friday, August 8, CNN reported that there had been a significant escalation in the fighting between Georgia and Russia and South Ossetia. “My country is in self-defense against Russian aggression. Russian troops invaded Georgia,” said Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili. But Russia has stated that it launched the attack to protect South Ossetia and the Russia population there: “The Georgian leadership has launched a dirty adventure,” a statement from Russia’s Defense Ministry said. “We will not leave our peacekeepers and Russian citizens unprotected.”
Source: CNN
Background: Tensions between Georgia and Russia mount in April
On July 11, 2008 findingDulcinea reported that Georgia recalled its envoy to Moscow because Russia had sent fighter jets into Georgia airspace. The episode was “Russia’s first admission for a decade that its air force has flown over Georgian territory without permission.”
Source: findingDulcinea
On April 28, 2008, findingDulcinea reported that, “The conflict over the Georgian breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia has escalated as Russia strengthens ties with the areas.”
Source: findingDulcinea
Opinion & Analysis: How serious is the conflict?
In The Moscow Times, Lincoln Mitchell, a professor of international politics at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, admits that Georgia committed a blunder by taking over the South Ossetian capital last week, but says that Russia has exceeded the required response. “Contrary to Russian propaganda, the threat Georgia represents to Russia is trivial. The reverse is not true.”
Source: The Moscow Times
Charles King, professor of international affairs in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, argues that, “the war began as an ill-considered move by Georgia to retake South Ossetia by force. Saakashvili's larger goal was to lead his country into war as a form of calculated self-sacrifice, hoping that Russia's predictable overreaction would convince the West of exactly the narrative that many commentators have now taken up.”
Source: The Christian Science Monitor
Reuters provides the opinions of a number of security experts on the current situation in the Caucasus. Christopher Langton, Defense Analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies and Expert in Central Asia, said this could become "the most serious incident in South Ossetia since the end of the war and it changes the face of this conflict quite dramatically."
Source: Reuters
Related Topics: Russia upset over U.S. missile defense plans; the ‘color revolutions’
“Russia threatened to retaliate by military means after a deal with the Czech Republic brought the US missile defence system in Europe a step closer,” the Times of London reported on July 9.
Source: The Times of London
According to a Jan. 18, 2008, findingDulcinea article, the “color revolutions”—peaceful revolutions in 2003–2005 in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan—“were each distinct, but shared one trait in being the peaceful expression of popular political will. Recent events have raised questions about the legacies of the revolutions.”
Source: findingDulcinea
Reference: Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia
The BBC examines the recent history of Georgia, particularly following Soviet rule. “During his [former Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze] 11 years in office, the Georgian people felt increasingly at the mercy of poverty, corruption and crime.” Discontent led to the Rose Revolution in 2004 under the guidance of current President Mikhail Saakashvili.
Source: The BBC
Joseph Stalin incorporated Abkhazia into Georgia in 1910, and a number of Georgians settled in the region. “Georgian became the official language and the Abkhaz language and cultural rights were repressed,” according to The BBC. Georgia sent troops into Abkhazia in 1992 to quell opposition, and after much bloodshed, the troops left by the end of 1993. Abkhazia declared independence in 1994, but it still lacks international recognition.
Source: The BBC
Georgia opposes South Ossetia’s calls for independence, referring to the area as either Samachablo or the Tskhinvali region. Because the name South Ossetia implies “political bonds with North Ossetia,” Georgia sees the name as a threat to its “territorial integrity,” writes the BBC.
Source: The BBC
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