Subscribe to Print Edition | Thu., August 14, 2008 Av 13, 5768 | | Israel Time: 19:22 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
  Back to Homepage
Rosner's Domain
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File
Comments:  82
Last update - 00:58 12/08/2008
Georgia President says Russia cut country in half
By News Agencies
Tags: South Ossetia, Russia 

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said Monday that Russia's troops had effectively cut the country in half by seizing a strategic city that straddles the country's only significant east-west highway.

Saakashvili made the statement in a national security council meeting on Monday, about an hour after officials claimed Russian troops had captured Gori, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of the capital Tbilisi, as the two rival countries approached all-out war in the former Soviet republic's separatist areas.

Georgian news agency Interfax cited a Russian Defense Ministry official as denying the reports of the seizure.
Advertisement
But a top official at the Georgian embassy in Moscow, Givi Shugarov, said Russian troops appeared to be moving toward Tbilisi and he alleged Russia's goal was complete liquidation of the Georgian government

Earlier Monday, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin criticized the United States for displayed a "cynical Cold War mentality" by supporting Georgia in the conflict.

The world's seven largest economic powers, meanwhile, urged Russia on Monday to accept an immediate cease-fire with Georgia and agree to international mediation over a growing crisis.

Putin, speaking to officials on state television, said the West had manipulated the truth about the war to present the Georgians as the victims rather than the aggressors.

He added that Washington was hampering Moscow's efforts to find a way out of the conflict. "It is a shame that some of our partners are not helping us but, essentially, are hindering us," Putin said.

"The very scale of this cynicism is astonishing - the attempt to turn white into black, black into white, and to adeptly portray victims of aggression as aggressors and place the responsibility for the consequences of the aggression on the victims," the Russian prime minister went on to say.

Putin said he was dismayed that the United States had used its military planes to transport Georgian troops home from Iraq.

A Georgian official said almost all of Georgia's 2,000-strong troop contingent in Iraq had returned although the U.S. has not confirmed that its planes had flown them home.

"Almost all of them have been sent to the area close to the conflict zone," Nika Rurua of the Georgian parliament's defense committee told Reuters.

The fighting between Russia and its small, former Soviet neighbor broke out last Thursday when Georgia sent forces to retake South Ossetia, a pro-Russian province that threw off Georgian rule in the 1990s.

Moscow responded with a counter-attack by its vastly bigger forces that drove Georgian troops out of the devastated South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali on Sunday.

Putin, an opponent of the U.S.-led war in Iraq, repeated complaints from Moscow about what it says are double standards in the West over the conflict with Georgia, which wants to become a member of NATO.

He mocked the support given by the West to Saakashvili, comparing the Georgian leader to former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, who was hanged in 2006 for war crimes.

"They of course had to hang Saddam Hussein for destroying several Shiite villages," Putin said.

"But the current Georgian rulers who in one hour simply wiped 10 Ossetian villages from the face of the earth, the Georgian rulers which used tanks to run over children and the elderly, which threw civilians into cellars and burnt them - they (Georgian leaders) are players that have to be protected."

Putin's accusations about the actions of Georgian troops have not been independently confirmed.

Georgia's Saakashvili, meanwhile, said that Russia is trying to topple his democratic government.

Swarms of Russian jets on Monday launched new raids on Georgian territory and Georgia faced the threat of a second front of fighting as Russia demanded that Georgia disarm troops near the breakaway province of Abkhazia.

While a senior Russian general insisted that Russia has no plans to press
further into Georgian territory - its troops are now in Georgia's two
breakaway provinces - the order to disarm carried the threat of Russian-sponsored fighting spreading.

A two-front battlefield would be a major escalation in the Russian-Georgian conflict that blew up Friday after a Georgian offensive to regain control of separatist South Ossetia.

Most Georgian troops are near South Ossetia, in the center of the country
along its northern border with Russia, which would make it difficult for
Georgia to repel an offensive from Abkhazia, in the west along the Black Sea.

Russia rejected the latest truce proposal tabled by Georgia over the ongoing conflict between the two countries on Monday, saying that it would not even consider a ceasefire document at present.

"According to information from peacekeepers in South Ossetia, Georia continues to use military force and in this regard we cannot consider this document," a Kremlin spokesman told reporters.

It follows a proposal signed in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi by Saakashvili, offering a ceasefire.

Moscow earlier Monday issued an ultimatum to Georgian forces near Abkhazia to disarm or face Russian troops moving into Georgian-controlled territory. Georgia has rejected the ultimatum, according to the Interfax news agency.

Russian aircraft launched new bombing raids on Georgian territory just before the Russian general delivered the bid, as Moscow accused Georgia of violating its pledge to observe a cease-fire around the breakaway province of South Ossetia.

Russian jets hit communications facilities on the outskirts of the Georgian capital and also targeted the Black Sea port of Poti, said Georgia's Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili. He said that Russian raids inflicted no casualties.

Utiashvili said that Russian tanks attempted to advance in the direction of the town of Gori near South Ossetia, but were turned back by Georgian forces. The town of 50,000 that sits on Georgia's only significant east-west highway has come under Russian strikes in the previous days.

Saakashvili, meanwhile, accused Moscow on Monday of trying to overthrow his government as Russian troops pushed into two separatist regions, but Moscow said it had no intention of invading.

Georgian ambassador Salome Samadashvili said a stronger response was needed from the EU, which will hold an emergency foreign ministers meeting on Georgia on Wednesday.

She also said Georgia was paying the price for NATO's failure to set a date for accession when it announced in April that the country would one day become a member.

"The Russian federation has made its goal to prevent NATO's expansion," she said. Russia has objected strongly to the idea of Georgia becoming a NATO member.

Georgia, whose troops have been trained by American soldiers, began an
offensive to regain control over South Ossetia overnight Friday, launching heavy rocket and artillery fire and air strikes that pounded Tskhinvali.

Russia, which has developed close ties with the region and granted passports to most of its residents, launched overwhelming artillery shelling and air attacks on Georgian troops. Heavy Russian shelling drove the Georgian forces out of the provincial capital of Tskhinvali on Sunday.

Saakashvili declared an initial cease-fire Sunday, but Russian officials said Monday that Georgian forces weren't observing it.

Saakashvili said on Monday 90 percent of his country's casualties in the conflict with Russia over South Ossetia were civilian.

"Our losses are mainly civilian. Ninety percent of our casualties are civilian," Saakashvili told reporters on a conference call.

He said Russian tanks were repelled five kilometers from the Georgian city of Gori, which is about 50 kilometers from the South Ossetian capital Tshkinvali.

"They were five kilometers from Gori. They were repelled and now they are 20 kilometers away," he said.

Saakashvili also accused Russia of trying to replace the Georgian government, claiming that the ongoing battles were not about the separatist territory but about controlling energy lines.

As the fighting raged, U.S. President George W. Bush condemned Moscow's "disproportionate response" to the South Ossetian crisis.

Russia's attack came shortly after France's foreign minister arrived in Georgia on a mediation mission.

Georgia on Sunday offered Russia a ceasefire and peace talks, and pulled its troops back from the Russian-backed separatist region of South Ossetia in the face of military muscle from Moscow.

A few hours later, Russia declared itself ready to make peace with Georgia and United Nations officials confirmed Sunday that Georgia is prepared to negotiate with Russia by withdrawing troops from the breakaway province of South Ossetia and creating a safe travel zone.

Russia, whose forces now control the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali, is demanding an unconditional Georgian withdrawal.

It said Sunday night that it would only act against Georgia in self-defense, according to Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin.

"Let's state clearly that we are ready to put an end to the war, that we will withdraw from South Ossetia, that we will sign an agreement on non-use of force," Churkin proposed.

However, diplomats said major fighting continued in many areas even after the announcement. Russia also has deployed a naval squadron off the coast of Abkhazia, and its aircraft bombed the outskirts of Tbilisi, the Georgian capital.

The UN Security Council met Sunday for the fourth time in as many days trying to resolve a conflict that began when U.S.-allied Georgia tried to control South Ossetia, then said its troops had retreated in the face of Russia's tanks and aircraft.

Council members broke off their three-hour meeting with plans to return either later in the day or Monday.

The U.S. was preparing a draft resolution that would have the council call for an immediate cease-fire and condemn the Russian action. France also had a draft text in the works. The U.S. and Europeans planned to huddle among themselves later Sunday.

Meanwhile, Israel's Foreign Ministry said earlier Sunday that it "recognizes the territorial integrity of Georgia," calling for a peaceful solution to the conflict that began raging with Russia late last week.

The ministry said in a statement it was following with concern the events of the past few days which saw heavy fighting between Russian and Georgian troops.

Related articles:
  • Russia declares itself ready to make peace with Georgia
  • IDF reservists who trained Georgia troops: War with Russia is no surprise
  • Georgian Jews flee to Israel as clashes with Russia continue
    • Bookmark to del.icio.us  
     
    Safe haven reached
    200 fleeing Georgia after the outbreak of hostilities arrive at Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport.
    Fatal heartbreak
    Disabled man dies of heart attack after his girlfriend was arrested by Immigration Police.
      1.   familiar? 13:12  |  fadi 11/08/08
      2.   Fadi the only hypocrit here are you and Iran 13:31  |  JP 11/08/08
      3.   The vanity of European nationalism again... 13:42  |  Michael J 11/08/08
      4.   Russia: The Arab League of Central Asia 14:17  |  David Teich 11/08/08
      5.   Thank you David Teich 14:42  |  Lebanese 11/08/08
      6.   West should help Georgia 14:57  |  Brod 11/08/08
      7.   Defending Georgia is imperative 15:27  |  Brod 11/08/08
      8.   US is airlifting Georgian troops from Iraq 15:53  |  Persian Hero 11/08/08
      9.   #1 fadi 15:59  |  Chet 11/08/08
      10.   #7 Brod 16:07  |  Chet 11/08/08
      11.   A Quote 16:32  |  Henry Kissinger 11/08/08
      12.   Chet #10 16:43  |  Brod 11/08/08
      13.   Bush is "condemning" Russia? His last impotent joke? 16:46  |  S 11/08/08
      14.   comment on comments 17:02  |  interested reader 11/08/08
      15.   Israeli foreign ministry 17:11  |  leven5 11/08/08
      16.   LEBANESE # 5. 17:29  |  David Nigel Braham 11/08/08
      17.   trained by the Americans ????? DUHHH!!! 17:37  |  just cause 11/08/08
      18.   Dear Fadi ... 17:44  |  Gabriel 11/08/08
      19.   Israeli crap # 1 18:08  |  North American 11/08/08
      20.   Israel Crap # 2 18:08  |  North American 11/08/08
      21.   Israel crap # 3 18:13  |  North American 11/08/08
      22.   Russia and Israel 18:17  |  Edifice 11/08/08
      23.   North American #19-21 18:21  |  Brod 11/08/08
      24.   #9, Chet, you sound like an angry redneck! 18:26  |  DR 11/08/08
      25.   6/7 Brod - Who, From Where??? 18:28  |  Mark of Lewiston 11/08/08
      26.   Hey #5, Lebanese...a quick question! 18:29  |  DR 11/08/08
      27.   I Think The Georgian President Should Quit 18:33  |  Yosemite 11/08/08
      28.   Brod 12 and 23, It is amazing the amount of anti-American and 18:35  |  The Equalizer 11/08/08
      29.   Dear Brod # 23 18:37  |  North American 11/08/08
      30.   Dear Equalizer # 28 18:49  |  North American 11/08/08
      31.   Putin`s "big lie" technique a throwback to the georgian Stalin 18:51  |  Voice of Reason 11/08/08
      32.   #1 fadi 19:09  |  Yonatan 11/08/08
      33.   I BELIEVE PUTIN 100%: GIVE GEORGIA A LESSON 19:25  |  indrajaya 11/08/08
      34.   Gabriel, Georgia attacked with Israel`s help... 19:28  |  BBSNews 11/08/08
      35.   North American crap 19:35  |  Alex 11/08/08
      36.   Russian Agression 19:37  |  Mike 11/08/08
      37.   BBS News` memory is quite short 19:45  |  Alex 11/08/08
      38.   Zionist Alex # 35 19:55  |  North American 11/08/08
      39.   Russia is losing all prestige 20:16  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 11/08/08
      40.   38 North American, can you prove the Iraq war is for Israel? 20:23  |  The Equalizer 11/08/08
      41.   My my, aren`t we delusional... 20:25  |  Alex 11/08/08
      42.   Yo Russia!!! History won`t repeat itself! 20:34  |  Ben Uziel 11/08/08
      43.   The Israeli - American double standard 20:34  |  Harold 11/08/08
      44.   One last thing, N. American 20:47  |  Alex 11/08/08
      45.   The failed Policies of Bush, Brown, Sarkozy and Merkel 20:55  |  Kris Lazar 11/08/08
      46.   Cipora dear #39 about Russian honor 20:59  |  S 11/08/08
      47.   #46, S 21:17  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 11/08/08
      48.   amazing talkbackers 21:25  |  christoph 11/08/08
      49.   Rice failed in Georgia 21:38  |  Brod 11/08/08
      50.   Bush should return home 21:47  |  Brod 11/08/08
      51.   WHERE IS ISRAEL?...WHERE IS U.S.?...WHERE IS NATO?... 22:17  |  BigBadJohn 11/08/08
      52.   49 Brod - Rice Works for Bush 22:18  |  Mark of Lewiston 11/08/08
      53.   Some partners 22:24  |  TonyL 11/08/08
      54.   Georgia on my mind 22:25  |  switch 11/08/08
      55.   Question 22:26  |  neutral 11/08/08
      56.   BBSNews 22:49  |  TonyL 11/08/08
      57.   Answer to Neutral 22:53  |  Alex 11/08/08
      58.   South Ossetian is almost all Russians 23:46  |  Jane