Russia/Georgia Situation News & Updates

Correction to breaking news:

Russian FM calls for arms embargo on Georgia until government is replaced.

- Sky TV

The Russians clearly aren't going to trust a re-armed, U.S-backed Saakashvili government again; they want him gone.

The U.S. is almost certainly going to re-arm and support the Saakashvili administration to the hilt.

Russia might be forced to act before it's too late.

Originally posted by chips
Correction to breaking news:

Russian FM calls for arms embargo on Georgia until government is replaced.

- Sky TV

Who does Russia have to call upon to make an embargo such as the one above legally stick in the international community?

I'm sure they can't just proclaim "Nobody can send Georgia any weapons, because we said so."....


[edit on 9/1/2008 by justme2]

It's just more talk - will never happen.

They are just trying to bide time until they figure out how they really want to proceed.



[edit on 1-9-2008 by jetxnet]

is this orchestrated from Moscow do you think?

U.S. warship met by anti-NATO protests in Ukraine's Sevastopol

SEVASTOPOL, September 1 (RIA Novosti) - The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Dallas, which arrived on Monday morning at the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol where Russia has a naval base, has refused to go ashore amid anti-NATO protests, customs officers said.

Nato is looking like a wet lettuce

en.rian.ru...

david

*snip*

Iranian Trump Card. Russia Can Take Control of Persian Gulf

Moscow could strengthen its military-technical ties with Syria and launch negotiations on the reestablishment of its military presence in Cuba. However, the most serious step which the United States and especially Israel fear (incidentally, Israel supplied arms to Georgia) is hypothetical revision of Russia's foreign policy with regard to Iran. A strategic alliance presuming the signing of a new large-scale military political treaty with Iran could change the entire geopolitical picture of the contemporary world.

www.globalresearch.ca...

MOD Note: Off Topic comment removed

[edit on 9/2/2008 by semperfortis]

Russia warns of consequences after talks freeze

Russia’s Ambassador to the EU has warned that the bloc will lose out by suspending long-delayed talks on a framework for new relations as retaliation for the military campaign in Georgia.

But Vladimir Chizhov played down fears that energy supplies will be affected: “A reporter asked me earlier today whether we were going to turn off the gas and oil supplies to the European Union. I can assure you that is not going to happen.”

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, however, claimed his country had now become the “centre of the struggle for freedom.” Addressing the nation on television, Saakashvili said it was clear that the “isolation of Russia was becoming inevitable”.

He claimed that Russia had now been told clearly that if it would not step back, the EU would take steps, even though the bloc stopped short of imposing sanctions at the Brussels summit.

euronews

Group: Georgia admits to dropping cluster bombs

A prominent human rights group says Georgia has admitted dropping cluster bombs in its military offensive to assert control over the restive province of South Ossetia.

Human Rights Watch says it has received an official letter from Georgia's Defense Ministry that acknowledges use of the M85 cluster munition near the Roki tunnel that connects South Ossetia with Russia.

The M85 is the same weapon that was used extensively by Israel in its 2006 war with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

HRW arms division researcher Bonnie Docherty told reporters in Geneva on Monday that Russia undoubtedly used cluster munition in several places during the conflict. However, Russia has denied using the weapon.

AP

Originally posted by -Rugged Shark-
Group: Georgia admits to dropping cluster bombs

A prominent human rights group says Georgia has admitted dropping cluster bombs in its military offensive to assert control over the restive province of South Ossetia.

Human Rights Watch says it has received an official letter from Georgia's Defense Ministry that acknowledges ....etc

etc.... reporters in Geneva on Monday that Russia undoubtedly used cluster munition in several places during the conflict. However, Russia has denied using the weapon.

AP

Some interesting reading here on that subject :

The ammunition in question is of Israeli origin and was used by the Georgian military. The Georgian Ministry of Defense has now admitted as much. HRW now also acknowledges this in a new press statement. But it continues to claim Russian use of such weapons. It does so by pointing to its own older reports which clearly misidentified Georgian cluster ammunition as Russian made. HRW has still to show any proof for its continuing accusations against the Russian Federation.

www.moonofalabama.org...

So clearly , these cluster bombs are not of Russian origin. Raises some questions as to the motives of this HRW organization.

[edit on 2-9-2008 by Gun Totin Gerbil]

Something really interesting... maybe a buildup towards another Cuban Crisis... let's hope not.

After the allegations by Russia that the US was providing arms to Georgia under an ``humanitarian aid``cover, Russia is about to do the same with.... CUBA under the Gustav hurricane cover.

Russia to send 'humanitarian aid' to Cuba

It may be nothing... but eh.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

New Russian pipeline for Turkmen-Uzbek gas: Putin promises an answer to NATO’s naval Black Sea presence

On a visit to Uzbekistan, Tuesday Sept. 2, prime minister Vladimir Putin said Russia’s reaction to NATO ships “will be calm, without any sort of hysteria. But of course there will be an answer.”

Putin and Uzbek president Islam Karimov announced a deal will be finalized in the near future for a new natural gas pipeline to pump Turkmen and Uzbek gas across Uzbekistan into the Russian pipeline system for re-export to Europe.

Karimov said the proposed pipeline, with a capacity of 26-30 billion cubic metres (bcm), would be built alongside the two existing Soviet-era pipelines, known as Central Asia-Centre and Central Asia-Bukhara-Ural. The Russian monopoly Gazprom, which will operate the new pipeline, said agreement had been reached on the “price formula for Uzbek gas.”

Since the Georgian conflict erupted, Moscow has intensified its quest to undermine the Western-backed effort to lay a rival trans-Caspian route to bypass the Russian energy corridor. Russia has offered the Central Asian republics European prices for as much gas as they can sell to retain its control of westward export routes.

(DEBKA)

He answered reporters questions about what measures Russia might take by saying simply "You'll see."

(The Jerusalem Post)

"We don't understand what American ships are doing on the Georgian shores, but this is a question of taste, it's a decision by our American colleagues," he reportedly said. "The second question is why the humanitarian aid is being delivered on naval vessels armed with the newest rocket systems."

"There are active attempts to restore the activity of Georgian troops," he said. "Yesterday, there were rallies and provocations near the town of Kapoleti targeting Russian troops. We believe they were organized by Georgian special services."

(Source: cbsnews.com)

Hmmm, whats this? Russian media reporting:

MOSCOW, September 2 (RIA Novosti) - Georgia is mobilizing commando units near its border with South Ossetia, a senior Russian military official said on Tuesday.

Russia officially recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states on August 26, saying the move was needed to protect the regions after Georgia's August 8 attack on South Ossetia.

"According to our information, Georgian security forces are trying to restore their [military] presence in Georgian populated villages in South Ossetia. With this aim, Georgia is mobilizing its special forces from the interior and defense ministries near the administrative border with South Ossetia," Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, the deputy chief of Russia's General Staff, said.

Source

Georgian military/commando buildup near South Ossetia, just outside Russia's buffer zone? Seems a bit unlikely...

reply to post by Mammoth


Good grief, I hope that's not true.

But, then, there was always a good chance that the U.S./NATO presence would embolden Saakashvili (the Russians have said they fear this, too).

Cheney to rally U.S. allies in Russia's backyard

* U.S. Vice President to visit oil producing ally

* Russia says Washington helped trigger Georgia violence

* Georgia next stop on Cheney trip

By Lada Yevgrashina

BAKU, Sept 3 (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney was on his way to ex-Soviet Azerbaijan on Wednesday for the first leg of a trip to show that Washington stood by its allies in the region despite Russia's military intervention in Georgia.

As Cheney headed into a region Russia sees as its backyard, the Kremlin renewed its rhetorical attacks on Washington, accusing it of helping trigger the conflict by backing a pro-Western Georgian government bent on aggression.

Azerbaijan and Georgia are links in the chain of a Western-backed energy corridor that bypasses Russia, but which the West fears could be in jeopardy after the Kremlin last month sent troops and tanks deep into Georgian territory when Tbilisi tried to retake the separatist region of South Ossetia by force.

(Rest of the article: AlertNet)

Yeah, it's all about the energy, lots of people die... But hey, you gotta think of that energy! Sick world... Just like Gustav, first thing you hear, "the economy's in danger!"

Sorry for the oneliner, but things like that disgust me.

reply to post by Vitchilo

Yes i agree, now that Poland and other NATO states will install the new ABM system , in the near future, we may see Russian made Wmds in Cuba or Venezuela.


[edit on 2-9-2008 by all2human]

Originally posted by chips
reply to post by Mammoth

 

Good grief, I hope that's not true.

But, then, there was always a good chance that the U.S./NATO presence would embolden Saakashvili (the Russians have said they fear this, too).

When did they say they fear US and NATO? From what I understand their attitude is "bring it".