Georgia says "very close" to war with Russia

TheLancinator · 05-06-2008, 02:51 PM

Georgia says "very close" to war with Russia
By Mark John

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Russia's deployment of extra troops in the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia has brought the prospect of war "very close," a minister of ex-Soviet Georgia said on Tuesday.

Separately, in comments certain to fan rising tension between Moscow and Tbilisi, the "foreign minister" of the breakaway Black Sea region was quoted as saying it was ready to hand over military control to Russia.

"We literally have to avert war," Temur Iakobashvili, a Georgian State Minister, told reporters in Brussels.

Asked how close to such a war the situation was, he replied: "Very close, because we know Russians very well."

"We know what the signals are when you see propaganda waged against Georgia. We see Russian troops entering our territories on the basis of false information," he said.

Georgia, a vital energy transit route in the Caucasus region, has angered Russia, its former Soviet master with which it shares a land border, by seeking NATO membership.

An April summit of the U.S.-led Western alliance stopped short of giving it a definite track towards membership but confirmed it would enter one day.

Russia has said its troop build-up is needed to counter what it says are Georgian plans to attack Abkhazia, a sliver of land by the Black Sea, and has accused Tbilisi of trying to suck the West into a war -- allegations Georgia rejects.

Tensions have been steadily mounting and escalated after Georgia accused Russia of shooting down one of its drones over Abkhazia in April, a claim Russia denied.

An extra Russian contingent began arriving in Abkhazia last week. Moscow has not said how many troops would be added but said the total would remain within the 3,000 limit allowed under a United Nations-brokered ceasefire agreement signed in 1994. Diplomats expect the reinforcement to be of the order of 1,200.

SECURITY GUARANTEES

Russian soldiers acting as peacekeepers patrol areas between Georgian and Abkhazian forces but handing full military control of the breakaway province to the Kremlin would alarm both the Georgian government and its allies in the West.

"Those 200 km (120 miles), the distance between the Psou and the Inguri rivers, are all Abkhazia. We agree to Russia taking this territory under its military control," Sergei Shamba, "foreign minister" of Abkhazia, told the Russian newspaper Izvestia.

"In exchange, we will demand guarantees of our security."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow had not received an official request from Abkhazia for its military to take control of the region.

After the NATO summit, Moscow announced plans to establish legal links with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, another "frozen conflict" region inside Georgia.

NATO has urged Russia to reverse the steps and complained that the deployment of extra troops would add to tensions. The European Union has also expressed concerns.

Iakobashvili said Georgia was urging the European Union to take a more active role in reducing tensions, with options including participating in border control or policing.

"We should have more Europe in these conflict zones," he said, while adding that no decisions on a bigger EU role had been taken during his talks in Brussels.

tollboothwilly · 05-09-2008, 08:08 PM

ah its refreshing to have a conflict somewhere else other then the mideast.

**PorkChopSandwiches** · 05-09-2008, 08:14 PM

Yes it is

Xmenfan · 05-10-2008, 03:00 AM

Trying to steal the spotlight are they!!!!

Well, we'll have none of that!!!

**Harpoon** · 05-10-2008, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tollboothwilly

ah its refreshing to have a conflict somewhere else other then the mideast.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PorkChopSandwiches

Yes it is

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xmenfan

Trying to steal the spotlight are they!!!!

Well, we'll have none of that!!!

YeeeeeHawwww!!!! Send in th' nukes !

deepsepia · 05-10-2008, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tollboothwilly

ah its refreshing to have a conflict somewhere else other then the mideast.

Um . . . Georgia is kinda "the Middle East" . . . depends on where you'd say that "the Middle East" ends, but its just a few hundred miles north of Iran, borders Turkey and Azherbaijan

05-06-2008, 02:51 PM	#1
TheLancinator I love Post Icons Join Date: Jul 2006 Tournaments Won: 2 Location: Colorado, USA Posts: 119,462 Thanks: 83 Thanked 875 Times in 613 Posts	Georgia says "very close" to war with Russia Georgia says "very close" to war with Russia By Mark John BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Russia's deployment of extra troops in the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia has brought the prospect of war "very close," a minister of ex-Soviet Georgia said on Tuesday. Separately, in comments certain to fan rising tension between Moscow and Tbilisi, the "foreign minister" of the breakaway Black Sea region was quoted as saying it was ready to hand over military control to Russia. "We literally have to avert war," Temur Iakobashvili, a Georgian State Minister, told reporters in Brussels. Asked how close to such a war the situation was, he replied: "Very close, because we know Russians very well." "We know what the signals are when you see propaganda waged against Georgia. We see Russian troops entering our territories on the basis of false information," he said. Georgia, a vital energy transit route in the Caucasus region, has angered Russia, its former Soviet master with which it shares a land border, by seeking NATO membership. An April summit of the U.S.-led Western alliance stopped short of giving it a definite track towards membership but confirmed it would enter one day. Russia has said its troop build-up is needed to counter what it says are Georgian plans to attack Abkhazia, a sliver of land by the Black Sea, and has accused Tbilisi of trying to suck the West into a war -- allegations Georgia rejects. Tensions have been steadily mounting and escalated after Georgia accused Russia of shooting down one of its drones over Abkhazia in April, a claim Russia denied. An extra Russian contingent began arriving in Abkhazia last week. Moscow has not said how many troops would be added but said the total would remain within the 3,000 limit allowed under a United Nations-brokered ceasefire agreement signed in 1994. Diplomats expect the reinforcement to be of the order of 1,200. SECURITY GUARANTEES Russian soldiers acting as peacekeepers patrol areas between Georgian and Abkhazian forces but handing full military control of the breakaway province to the Kremlin would alarm both the Georgian government and its allies in the West. "Those 200 km (120 miles), the distance between the Psou and the Inguri rivers, are all Abkhazia. We agree to Russia taking this territory under its military control," Sergei Shamba, "foreign minister" of Abkhazia, told the Russian newspaper Izvestia. "In exchange, we will demand guarantees of our security." Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow had not received an official request from Abkhazia for its military to take control of the region. After the NATO summit, Moscow announced plans to establish legal links with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, another "frozen conflict" region inside Georgia. NATO has urged Russia to reverse the steps and complained that the deployment of extra troops would add to tensions. The European Union has also expressed concerns. Iakobashvili said Georgia was urging the European Union to take a more active role in reducing tensions, with options including participating in border control or policing. "We should have more Europe in these conflict zones," he said, while adding that no decisions on a bigger EU role had been taken during his talks in Brussels. __________________

05-09-2008, 08:08 PM	#2
tollboothwilly Who wants free porn? Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: somewhere in a tollbooth Posts: 9,763 Thanks: 9 Thanked 5 Times in 2 Posts	ah its refreshing to have a conflict somewhere else other then the mideast. __________________ The way we pay for tollbooths should not be made by candian coin but by U.S. coin. 6 bottles of vodka a day and still sober. Theres something seriously wrong if you get an STD from whacking off.

05-09-2008, 08:14 PM	#3
PorkChopSandwiches Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Online Posts: 52,003 Thanks: 6 Thanked 442 Times in 180 Posts	Yes it is __________________ A Teabelly Original

05-10-2008, 03:00 AM	#4
Xmenfan Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Southwest Florida Posts: 3,753 Thanks: 6 Thanked 7 Times in 5 Posts	Trying to steal the spotlight are they!!!! Well, we'll have none of that!!! __________________ Thanks to Teabelly for the cool sig!