Russia/Georgia Situation News & Updates

I'm guessing UK reporters have left Gori by now .. hard to say.

In their video, their a bit more careful as a Russian Jet fired near their vehicles. Russia doesn't like the Western reporters for some reason. I wonder why?

Originally posted by Rentor

Originally posted by Th0r
So Russian tanks in Gori ??? someone please provide images of the carnage on the city.. I doubt it.

news.sky.com...

500 tanks invade,click on breaking news

[edit on 11-8-2008 by Rentor]

I think it is about time someone metioned this but several times Skynews links have been provided and several times they have not worked for me. This is not to say they have never worked for me.. but mostly the skynews.au have worked and not the main site... It maybe US censership or bad encoding but I thought I would bring it up as I would like to read the source of this development.

BREAKING NEWS!!!
Ceasefire bid amid Georgia crisis news.bbc.co.uk...

EACH SIDE ONCE AGAIN ACCUSE EACH OTHER ATTACKING AND BREAK CEASE FIRE

reply to post by jetxnet


maybe because they are fighting a propaganda war against russia. the media has been georgias trick pony through this whole thing. not saying it is right for russia to act that way but it certainly makes sense.

Thanks Rentor, those agreements are going nowhere.

It really only gives Russia an excuse to continue as they already have complete and full control of Ossetia.

Everything else they're doing now is for regime change.

Turkey

TurkishDailyNews

The war in the Caucasus that has broken out between Russia and Georgia has unsettled Turkish business people who have investments in the region. Investor firms have reportedly pushed the degree of security to the highest level.

““Turkey is in a difficult position, but it can do nothing more than to try to bring the two sides to the negotiating table,” said Mensur Akğun, professor of international relations and director of foreign policy program at the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation, or TESEV.

“Turkey will also stick to Georgian territorial integrity, but only by declaring its opinion in principle,” Akgün said. Speaking to Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called for a peaceful resolution to the problem on the first day of hostilities.

Another dilemma Turkey faces is pressure from ethnic lobbies in Abkhazia, the other breakaway region of Georgia, which claim the Turks are their distant relatives and that Turkey should support them in their struggle against Georgia.

Abkhazia parliament's Deputy Speaker Irina Agırba said Saturday that Turkey, too, had a hand in the conflict that took over 2,000 lives.

“Turkey facilitated Georgia's war,” Agırba said. He laid a black wreath before the Georgian Embassy in Ankara together with the Turkey-Caucasus Solidarity Foundation. “It is impossible to understand Turkey's military support for Georgia. We have a connection with Turkey from the past.”

However, Turkey must remain committed to its own course in Southern Caucasus policy, Akgün said. “If all ethnic minorities start implementing their own foreign policy vision, Turkey cannot move. Nearly all groups want to protect their own ethnic relatives. Turkey has this experience and will not take an adventurous step,” Akgün said, underlining that Turkey must decide according to its own imperatives.

Seems as if Turkey will remain calm for now

Interesting from Armenian news panarmenian.net

Gaining the maps of Georgian military, Russian peacekeepers got evidence that military operation in South Ossetia was not abrupt. The attack was planned scrupulously.

Iranian News... isn't reporting anything at all about the conflict it seems from what I am seeing...


Al Jazeera Highlights

Rapid evacuation

Al Jazeera's Jonnah Hull, reporting from Gori, said thousands of Georgians had rapidly evacuated the town at the first mention of a possible full scale Russian invasion.

"There was massive bombing of Gori all evening and now we are getting reports of an imminent attack by Russian tanks"

Shota Utiashvili,
Georgia interior ministry

But he could not confirm if an invasion was imminent and said there had been no official word from the Georgian government on the attack.

About 65km northwest of the Georgian capital Tbilisi, Gori is just south of the border with South Ossetia, which has seen fierce fighting between Russian and Georgian forces in the last few days.

It is the largest Georgian town, about 50,000 in population, that sits close to the region and an important strategic link between eastern and western Georgia.

Utiashvili said Russian troops were preparing for a ground assault.

They "are not there yet but it looks like they are getting ready for it," he said, adding that Georgian forces were returning fire on Russian positions.

reply to post by jetxnet


One thing I have been thinking since I saw those images, were the vehicles identified as vehicles from the press?

On the images nothing was visible, they may have been marked or not, and the attack was not on the vehicles, it was on the side of the road, where the reporter was with someone else, so I don't know if that was really an attack on the media.

Originally posted by jetxnet
I'm guessing UK reporters have left Gori by now .. hard to say.

In their video, their a bit more careful as a Russian Jet fired near their vehicles. Russia doesn't like the Western reporters for some reason. I wonder why?

They still there jetxnet,live on bbc news now but all seems calm and theres one on sky now too! same thing -calm.

reply to post by freemindmine


So here it is,Georgia signed but Russia hasn't-Russia BOMBS BOMBS 24/7 now and invades with 500 tanks with ground forces, which leaves Georgia once again break the document he just signed to fight off the Russians

[edit on 11-8-2008 by Rentor]

Thanks, we are likely seeing the second stage of this thing now:

Russian tanks and ground troops are just over the border outside Gori. They are in a regrouping stage.

I'm off to bed, but my prediction:

Russia will claim Georiga broke the cease-fire agreement (or did not sign or lay down arms) by shelling on Russian postions.

Russia will start the advance on Gori with tanks and troops sometime within the next 24hrs.

Over and out!

reply to post by asen_y2k


- The Georgian premier has signed it: but the Russians have said it is meaningless because fighting continues around the South Ossetian capital, Gori and Abkhazia.

- There are 9,000 Russian troops in Abkhazia.

- Fighting is basically still going on all over the place.

- Russia continues to strike Gori, too. Still fighting going on around that area.

Russia wants Georgia to COMPLETELY withdraw from South Ossetian areas - as well as the province of Abkhazia. The question is this: do Russia intend to overthrow the pro-Western government? Because, to do this, they will eventually have to go back on their word and venture deeper into Georgia. They aren't happy with the U.S.'s attitude, either (that feeling is probably more than mutual).

It continues.

[edit on 11-8-2008 by chips]

reply to post by Rentor

Well theres no video reports of russian troops outside OS or any bombing going on ,its all been said by the georgian gov,as far as I can see.

reply to post by chips


YUP

reply to post by freemindmine


No its been said by reporters in Georgia with pictures on sky tv

[edit on 11-8-2008 by Rentor]

reply to post by Rentor

Yes I v seen it been said,But all i m saying is it has not been on live reports and on the live reports things look calm.I not saying it is or it is not happening,
I m just stating the facts that I am watching.

reply to post by freemindmine


What news channel are you watching?

reply to post by Rentor


Shy News in the UK,BBC news in the uk,Russian Today and Al Jazeera.
Not all at the same time!

...and here it is. I knew Georgia's supposed magical piece of paper that was going to bring a ceasefire meant next to nothing.

KREMLIN SPOKESMAN SAYS RUSSIA REJECTS GEORGIA CEASEFIRE

KREMLIN SPOKESMAN SAYS RUSSIA REJECTS GEORGIA CEASEFIRE CLAIM, SAYS GEORGIA FORCES STILL FIGHTING.

www.alertnet.org...

Which followed this:

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb were to make their way to Moscow on Monday evening after spending Sunday and Monday in Tbilisi meeting with Georgian officials.

Stubb said they had a proposal which included a "forceful way forward" to a cease-fire and withdrawal plan.

"I agreed with every point of it," Saakashvili said. "They are going now back to Moscow trying to convince the Russians to take the offer."

edition.cnn.com...




[edit on 11-8-2008 by mattguy404]

reply to post by mattguy404


Here it is boys,Nato will step in because A)Russia shows just want to kill kill kill

+How is that meeting going with NATO?

Quick chronology from reutuers:

www.alertnet.org

: Reuters
Aug 11 (Reuters) - Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili accused Moscow on Monday of trying to overthrow his government as Russian troops pushed into two separatist regions of Georgia.

The issue of South Ossetia's independence has bedevilled Georgia's relations with Russia. Here is a chronology:

also a piece on the suspected use of cyber warfare:

arstechnica.com

Russia's actual physical invasion of Georgia has garnered much of the headline space devoted to the two countries, but the conflict is playing out online as well. Attacks against the Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's website first occurred in late July, but gathered relatively little attention. Security investigators from the United States Computer Response Readiness Team (US-CERT) monitored the attacks, and stated that they did not appear to be a test run for a major assault.

Whether those attacks and the current situation are directly linked or not, the same group may be ultimately responsible for both. The blog RBNExploit claims to be functioning as an unofficial news branch of the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and has released a server routing map it claims demonstrates evidence of Russian malfeasance.

[edit on 8/11/2008 by JacKatMtn]