http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080826/ap_on_re_eu/georgia;_ylt=Av6Ska.17A3lvH0mlg69V8BI2ocA
MOSCOW - Russia formally recognized the breakaway Georgian territories at the heart of its war with Georgia on Tuesday, drawing immediate condemnation from the West as the United States dispatched a military ship bearing aid to a port city still patrolled by Russian troops.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was unapologetic about his decision and said he did not fear a Cold War. He said Georgia ****** Russia's hand by launching an ****** targeting South Ossetia on Aug. 7 in an apparent bid to seize control of the breakaway region.
In response, Russian tanks and troops drove deep into the U.S. ally's territory in a five-day war that Moscow saw as a justified response to a military threat in its backyard and the West viewed as a repeat of Soviet-style intervention in its vassal states.
"This is not an easy choice but this is the only chance to save people's lives," Medvedev said Tuesday in a televised address a day after Russia's Kremlin-controlled parliament voted unanimously to support the diplomatic recognition.
The U.S. was taken surprise by the speed of the Russian response on recognition and escalated it by having Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice threaten a U.N. Security Council veto should Russia ask for international recognition of its move.
"Abkhazia and South Ossetia are a part of the internationally recognized borders of Georgia and it's going to remain so," Rice said.
Britain, Germany and France also criticized the decision.
Medvedev later said Russia did not seek or fear a new Cold War and that it was up to the West to avoid it.
"We are not afraid of anything, including the prospect of a Cold War, but we of course don't want it." Medvedev told the Russia Today television channel. "In this situation everything depends on the position of our partners ... in the West."
"If they want to preserve good relations with Russia in the West, they will understand the reason behind our decision and the situation will be calm," Medvedev added.
Russian ****** have staked out positions beyond the de-facto borders of the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The two territories have effectively ruled themselves following wars in the 1990s.
While Western nations have called the Russian military presence in Poti a clear ********* of an EU-brokered cease-fire, a top Russian general countered Tuesday that using warships to deliver aid was "devilish."
"The heightened activity of NATO ships in the Black Sea perplexes us," Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn said in Moscow. The United States says its ships are carrying humanitarian aid but suspicion persists in Russia that they are delivering military materiel clandestinely."
To be honest I'm not sure just who is in the right in the dispute between Russia and Georgia,and possibly both sides have valid points to what they claim is going on.:dunno:But the idea that the US is seen as being involved is not something I think is what we should be doing at least not the sending of US Navy ships to deliver anything to Georgia.Use of some unarmed cargo ships would be better if really all they are trying to do is bring in humanitarian aid.
MOSCOW - Russia formally recognized the breakaway Georgian territories at the heart of its war with Georgia on Tuesday, drawing immediate condemnation from the West as the United States dispatched a military ship bearing aid to a port city still patrolled by Russian troops.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was unapologetic about his decision and said he did not fear a Cold War. He said Georgia ****** Russia's hand by launching an ****** targeting South Ossetia on Aug. 7 in an apparent bid to seize control of the breakaway region.
In response, Russian tanks and troops drove deep into the U.S. ally's territory in a five-day war that Moscow saw as a justified response to a military threat in its backyard and the West viewed as a repeat of Soviet-style intervention in its vassal states.
"This is not an easy choice but this is the only chance to save people's lives," Medvedev said Tuesday in a televised address a day after Russia's Kremlin-controlled parliament voted unanimously to support the diplomatic recognition.
The U.S. was taken surprise by the speed of the Russian response on recognition and escalated it by having Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice threaten a U.N. Security Council veto should Russia ask for international recognition of its move.
"Abkhazia and South Ossetia are a part of the internationally recognized borders of Georgia and it's going to remain so," Rice said.
Britain, Germany and France also criticized the decision.
Medvedev later said Russia did not seek or fear a new Cold War and that it was up to the West to avoid it.
"We are not afraid of anything, including the prospect of a Cold War, but we of course don't want it." Medvedev told the Russia Today television channel. "In this situation everything depends on the position of our partners ... in the West."
"If they want to preserve good relations with Russia in the West, they will understand the reason behind our decision and the situation will be calm," Medvedev added.
Russian ****** have staked out positions beyond the de-facto borders of the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The two territories have effectively ruled themselves following wars in the 1990s.
While Western nations have called the Russian military presence in Poti a clear ********* of an EU-brokered cease-fire, a top Russian general countered Tuesday that using warships to deliver aid was "devilish."
"The heightened activity of NATO ships in the Black Sea perplexes us," Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn said in Moscow. The United States says its ships are carrying humanitarian aid but suspicion persists in Russia that they are delivering military materiel clandestinely."
To be honest I'm not sure just who is in the right in the dispute between Russia and Georgia,and possibly both sides have valid points to what they claim is going on.:dunno:But the idea that the US is seen as being involved is not something I think is what we should be doing at least not the sending of US Navy ships to deliver anything to Georgia.Use of some unarmed cargo ships would be better if really all they are trying to do is bring in humanitarian aid.
