Russia/Georgia Situation News & Updates

Russia to launch rockets in the North Pacific

RUSSIAN submarines armed with intercontinental ballistic missiles will test-fire their rockets in the north Pacific Ocean between September 15 and 20.

RIA Novosti news agency reported an unidentified official saying missile launches will be carried out in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea and will hit targets on the Kamchatka Peninsula in eastern Russia.

A press officer for the Governor of Kamchatka told RIA Novosti that authorities had been forewarned and would inform the local population "in due course". Russia's Pacific Fleet, which will carry out the tests, has Delfin nuclear submarines equipped with missiles that can reach targets as far as 8300kilometres away.

(The Sydney Morning Herald)

NATO-Georgia body to meet, as EU tidies up observer team

The new NATO-Georgia Commission meets in Tbilisi on Monday to assess the damage from the conflict with Russia, as EU foreign ministers finalise the details of a peace observer mission.

The commission, which has angered Moscow, meets at the level of ambassadors and aims "to coordinate alliance efforts to assist Georgia in recovering from the recent conflict", a NATO spokesman said ahead of the inaugural talks.

The new body also "underpins Georgia's efforts to take forward political, economic and defence reforms" needed to one day join the world's biggest military alliance, the spokesman, James Appathurai, said.

Some ambassadors from the 26 NATO member countries will also travel to undisclosed areas outside the Georgian capital, with the move deemed safe after what the spokesman described as "a very, very thorough security assessment".

Last week, Russia's envoy to NATO urged the ambassadors to postpone the trip but the military alliance insists that the visit is not aimed at undermining relations with Moscow.

NATO leaders said in April that Georgia, and Ukraine, will be allowed to join the alliance one day, despite deep Russian concerns about its old Cold War foe closing in on its borders.

EU Business

Somewhat offtopic but nevertheless a bit funny...

Vladimir Putin to Teach Nicolas Sarkozy Judo

Rivals for sexiest statesman status, Vladimir Putin and Nicolas Sarkozy may soon fight it out tete-a-tete. The black-belt Russian prime minister agreed to show the French president his martial arts moves, Putin told the French newspaper Le Figaro.

The former Russian president, a champion judoka, said Sarkozy "is interested in martial arts and we have decided to do some training together," according to Reuters.

Putin, 55, is known for his skills in the martial art of judo, according to Reuters, which reported that Sarkozy, though not known to practice martial arts, has been seen jogging.

Sarkozy’s office has not confirmed the training session.

Fox News

It say CHIPS post something over 10 mins ago,But its not showing up on the thread.This seems to happen all the time on this thread,can the mods have a look at it please?
Sorry for going off topic,but if Chips has more breaking news in his new post ,it would be good to read when its still breaking!

Russian bombers stage Caribbean drill

Two Russian Tu-160 bombers sent for training exercises to Venezuela have carried out maneuvers over neutral Atlantic and the Caribbean.

According to the Deputy Commander of the Russian Long-Range Air Force, Alexander Afinogentov, foreign fighters did not approach the Tu-160s, there were no excesses and the equipment worked well.

(Press TV)

reply to post by freemindmine


You are probably seeing the famous "posts on a new last page not showing" bug.

It looks like big threads suffer from this problem, although new posts create a new page, the forum code fails to "see" it and does not create a next page link.

That is why I always try to see if there is a next page when I read a page with what looks to be enough posts to fill the page (I could count them, but it is easier to see if there is a new page).

To see if there is a new page just change the address of the page you are reading. If, for example, you are on page 312, change the 312 in the address bar to 313, and that will show you an empty page or the new page that does appear.

Albania criticises Russia over recognition of South Ossetia, Abkhazia

The foreign ministry issued a statement Thursday (August 28th) criticising Russia over its decision to recognise South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent countries. The statement also downplayed any parallels to Kosovo.

It described Moscow´s move as "unjustified, unacceptable and a violation of the international law and the UN resolutions".In New York on Thursday, UN spokesperson Michele Montas said South Ossetia and Abkhazia are entirely different from Kosovo. "I think the two cases should not be compared, since they have different backgrounds," Montas said.

Portalino

Burjanadze Says was ‘Shocked’ over Abkhaz ‘Carve-Up Plan'

Nino Burjanadze, the former Parliamentary Chairperson, said she was “shocked” when she heard President Saakashvili acknowledging offering Russia partitioning Abkhazia months before the August war.

On June 27 the Russian daily Kommersant reported that during a visit of Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister, Grigol Vashadze in Moscow on June 23, Tbilisi had offered Moscow, a plan involving dividing Abkhazia, with Gali and Ochamchire districts under Tbilisi control –allowing Georgian displaced persons to return there – and areas to the north of Ochamchire, including the capital Sokhumi, under de facto Russian control. The Georgian authorities have strongly denied the report back in June; on August 24, President Saakashvili, however, confirmed that he had sent a letter to his Russian counterpart offering that type of arrangement. He also said that the proposal was rejected by Moscow.d

“I was shocked when I listened to the President saying he had offered Russia, what in fact was, splitting Abkhazia,” she said in an interview with the RFE/RL Georgian service. “I was a Parliamentary Chairperson and if there was such talk on the matter, I had the right to know about that. I’ve learnt about it from the Kommersant and when I asked our authorities whether this information had any ground, they categorically denied it.”

“It is totally unacceptable that talks were underway about an actual split of Abkhazia behind the back of the Parliamentary Chairperson, who is a second highest ranking official [after the President] in the country. I will naturally demand an answer on this question and I will ask how it happened that the second person in the country did not know about talks on vitally important issue for the country and has anyone the right – even if it is a President – to hold talks or to send letters about some kind of model of splitting the part of the country’s territory.”

The Kommersant ran the article about the Abkhaz partition proposal on June 27, when Nino Burjanadze was no longer a parliamentary chairperson. The new Parliament was convened on June 7 and Davit Bakradze was elected as the new parliamentary chairman, on the same day.

Civil.ge

reply to post by -Rugged Shark-


That is very interesting and intriguing.

What could have been the reasons behind that idea of "giving" half of Abkhazia to Russia?

What Georgia (or Saakashvili) gain with that?

*snip* you to lecture me?': Russian minister's extraordinary rant at David Miliband

David Miliband was subjected to an astonishing four-letter tirade from his Russian counterpart at the height of the Georgia crisis.

The Foreign Secretary received the undiplomatic tongue-lashing over the telephone after expressing the EU's anger with the Kremlin, it was revealed yesterday.

At one point Sergei Lavrov, the colourful Russian foreign minister, became so incensed that he reportedly barked: 'Who the f*** are you to lecture me?'

He used full-strength industrial language to suggest to the Foreign Secretary that he knew little, if anything, of Russia's history - perhaps unaware that Mr Miliband's grandfather Samuel served in the Red Army and his father Ralph was a leading Marxist theoretician.

Such was the repeated use of the F-word that it was difficult to draft a readable note of the exchange, according to one insider who has seen the transcript.

A Whitehall source said: 'It was effing this and effing that.

'It was not what you would call diplomatic language. It was rather shocking.'

Mr Miliband was 'surprised' by the ferocity of the verbal attack and the nature of the language, an insider close to the Foreign Secretary added.

It came as he put forward objections to the Russian invasion of Georgia following a meeting with EU foreign ministers in Brussels last month.

Sources at the Foreign Office said the exchange came before Mr Miliband's controversial visit to Russia's neighbour Ukraine, where he flew the flag for Western democracy - otherwise the onslaught might have been even more severe.

Daily Mail

MOD Note: Do Not Evade The Automatic Censors

[edit on 9/14/2008 by semperfortis]

reply to post by ArMaP


I have no idea. Maybe he did it to create some goodwill from Russia. But it's strange that his own government didn't know about this.

Which spin source is more viable?...flip coin.


David Miliband and Sergei Lavrov

Lavrov never used foul language with Miliband - Russian ministry RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, September 13 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Foreign Ministry denied on Saturday British media reports that the head of the Russian diplomatic body, Sergei Lavrov, used foul language talking to his British counterpart David Miliband.

British media circulated reports on Friday night and early Saturday that Minister Lavrov scolded British Foreign Secretary Miliband and even used foul language as they discussed over a telephone the recent situation in Georgia.

"It is inadmissible in the practice of diplomacy. The use of foul language either means insulting a partner or insulting a country, which he represents. Therefore, I categorically reject such insults against our minister," Andrei Nesterenko, a spokesman for the Russian ministry, said.

He added that the ministry is preparing the full script of the conversation between the top diplomats and will soon publish it on the official website.

Impartial unbiased journalism is a pipe dream.

[edit on 14-9-2008 by Regenmacher]

Just saw this on Reuters alert....didn't see it here yet.

Reuters

We all just better hope Georgia doesn't become a member of NATO...then we are really *snip*

Do Not Evade The Automatic Censors

[edit on 9/14/2008 by semperfortis]

Lavrov on official visit to Abkhazia

The two sides plan to sign inter-governmental agreements on a wide range of cooperation including military ties.

"I think that our treaty that we agreed to prepare between Russia and Abkhazia will be a block of points concerning free movement across the border,” Lavrov told a joint news conference with Bagapsh.

And on the Iran ``front``:
IAEA: No nuclear material missing in Iran

reply to post by Vitchilo


And yet it was the IAEA that said it was missing.

Something is up.

reply to post by chips


It was not really the IAEA, it was an article for the Telegraph written by Con Coughlin and Tim Butcher, in Jerusalem, and it is now being contradicted by an article from the Iranian official sources.

Until I see it on an official IAEA statement I will not believe either.

reply to post by ArMaP


I was referring to what was in the Telegraph report:

IAEA officials believe the Iranians have deliberately removed the uranium at a stage in the production process that is not under their supervision.

I agree with your point, though.

Georgia lost up to 3,000 men in S. Ossetia conflict - source

MOSCOW, September 15 (RIA Novosti) - About 3,000 Georgian soldiers and police were killed during its recent attempt to take control of South Ossetia, a Russian intelligence source said Monday.

Georgian troops attacked the breakaway republic on August 8, killing a number of Russian peacekeepers and hundreds of civilians. In response, Russia launched a five-day military operation to "force Georgia to accept peace."

"Our data gathered from various sources indicates that Georgia lost up to 3,000 servicemen and police in attack on South Ossetia," the source said, adding that Georgia's Western allies also were aware of numbers involved.

"Georgia's leadership is attempting to cover up the real scale of the losses and is officially reporting about 70 confirmed deaths," he said. "But their figures are significantly understated."

The source said Georgia suffered such heavy losses because of the poor training and low morale of its military personnel, especially reservists.

"Besides, many Georgian soldiers, who are accounted for as MIA, are deserters," he added. "Georgian police are still looking for these people, who simply left the battlefield."

Official statements last week put Russia's losses in the short conflict with Georgia at 66 killed and at least 340 wounded.

Russia's Pacific Fleet holds live firing drills in Far East

VLADIVOSTOK, September 15 (RIA Novosti) - A naval task force from Russia's Pacific Fleet has started scheduled exercises involving live firing in the Sea of Japan, a fleet spokesman said on Monday.

"For the next few days the warships will conduct a series of training exercises, which mainly involve live firing at simulated targets," the source said.

He said the Admiral Vinogradov and Marshal Shaposhnikov large ASW ships will practice on Monday AA artillery and SAM firing at a target drone.

"During the next stage of the exercise, the ships will fire anti-ship missiles at a surface target," the source said.

The current drills are the third in a series of combat training exercises conducted by the Pacific Fleet in the past month. Two previous exercises off Russia's Far East coast involved over 50 warships and submarines, along with naval aircraft and naval infantry.

Russia also announced last week that strategic submarines from the Russian Pacific Fleet would conduct test launches of ballistic missiles at the Kura test site in Kamchatka on September 15-20.

(Source: RIA Novosti)


[edit on 15-9-2008 by chips]

GEORGIA: FLAWS FOUND IN TBILISI’S WAR PLANNING AND OPERATIONS

In a series of interviews with EurasiaNet, senior defense and national security officials have repeated earlier assertions that the possibility of a large-scale, direct engagement with Russia was never entertained. Similarly, soldiers who fought in South Ossetia suggest that decisions about Georgian army movements were made on the fly.

At worst, a proxy confrontation with Russian forces -- akin to the first South Ossetian conflict in 1991-1992 -- was considered, said Georgian National Security Council Secretary Alexander Lomaia. After the debacle of Russia’s two wars in Chechnya, no one thought that Moscow would further risk its international reputation by invading a sovereign country, said Deputy Defense Minister Batu Kutelia.

"We expected that the Russians would fight with the hands of the separatists," Lomaia told EurasiaNet.

Georgian soldiers who fought in South Ossetia told EurasiaNet that they thought their initial mission in the breakaway region was to stop separatist attacks on Georgian villages in the area. On the morning of August 8, the Georgian government cited shelling on two Georgian villages as the reason for its decision to move on Tskhinvali.

"Our goal was to put an end to fighting in the area ? and take control," said one senior lieutenant from Georgia’s 3,500-strong 4th Brigade, a unit that bore the brunt of the fighting on August 8. "Nobody in the army expected a war with Russia."

The realization that Georgian forces were not up against South Ossetian militia, but an opponent who could vastly outnumber the Georgian army in numbers and firepower came as a shock, sources say. "The main thing is that the scope of the threat was underestimated, while our own combat capabilities were overestimated," commented one defense ministry source, who asked not to be named.

When the order came, the retreat was chaotic. "There was heavy fire from every direction," the 4th Brigade senior lieutenant said. "We lay on the ground, while the priest of our brigade ? with his beard sticking out from under the helmet’s straps, crawled up and gave us a blessing."

www.eurasianet.org...