RUSSIA GEORGIA OSSETIA NEWS POLAND MISSILES OIL

Uncensored News and Videos on the Russian - Georgian - South Ossetia War
Moscow charged Tbilisi with “genocide” for its heavy handed attack on the breakaway region. Russia's says it's actions were a response to Georgia's assault on its citizens as well as the peacekeepers Russia had in South Ossetia since the disputed region broke away from Georgia in the early 1990s. Russia signed a cease fire agreement with Georgia 3 days after Russian troops secured South Ossetia and outsed the Georgian Troops. After the cease fire, the U.S. and other Western countries have given substantial military aid to Georgia, angering Russia, which regards Georgia as part of its historical sphere of influence. Russia also has complained about aspirations by Georgia and Ukraine to join NATO.

Sept 26, 2008 Russia, infuriated with the U.S. proposal for an anti-missile shield in eastern Europe is now in a new arms race with the United States. In a sharp escalation of military rhetoric, Russian President Medvedev put its armed forces on permanent combat alert and announced they will build a new space and missile defense shields. He said that Russia must modernize and create a system of air and space defense. Russia also granted Venezuela a one-billion-dollar loan to purchase anti-aircraft systems, armored personnel carriers and more combat aircraft. Venezuela has signed deals for 4.4 billion dollars' worth of Russian arms since 2005, including fighter jets, tanks and assault rifles.

Sept 8, 2008
Russia dispatched a nuclear cruiser and other warships and planes to the Caribbean for joint exercises with Venezuela, the first such maneuvers in the U.S. vicinity since the Cold War. The announcement came amid soaring tensions between Russia and the United States, including over the presence of US naval vessels sent close to Russian shores to deliver aid to Georgia.

Foreign ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said Russia's most modern anti-submarine destroyer, would also join the exercises, along with an unspecified number of anti-submarine naval aircraft. He said the exercise had been planned for some time and was "not in any way connected to the current situation in the Caucasus," where Russian forces last month fought a brief war with U.S.-ally Georgia.

Sept 4 -2008 A US navy flagship has steamed into a Georgian port where Russian troops are still stationed, stoking tensions in the region. A previous trip by American warships was cancelled at the last minute a week ago amid fears that an armed stand off could erupt in the Black Sea port of Poti.

The arrival of the USS Mount Whitney came as Moscow accused Dick Cheney, the hawkish US vice-president, of stoking tensions during a visit to Tbilisi yesterday, in which he vowed to bring Georgia into the NATO alliance. Russia sees any such move as a blatant Western encroachment on its traditional sphere of influence.

Russia’s leadership has already questioned whether previous US warships that docked at the port of Batumi, to the south, were delivering weapons to rearm the smashed Georgian military, something Washington has denied. Russia again questioned the deployment of what it described as "the number one ship of its type in the US navy” on the Black Sea, it said it planned no military action in response.
“Naval ships of that class can hardly deliver a large amount of aid,” said Andrei Nesterenko, a Russian foreign ministry spokesman. “Such ships of course have a hold for keeping provisions for the crew and items needed for sailing. How many dozens of tonnes of aid can a ship of that type deliver?"

Aug 30 -2008 South Ossetia announced that it would soon become part of Russia, which will open military bases in the province under an agreement to be signed on Tuesday.

Aug 26-2008 Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is warning that his country may respond to a U.S. missile shield in Europe through military means. Medvedev says that the deployment of an anti-missile system close to Russian borders "will of course create additional tensions." "We will have to react somehow, to react, of course, in a military way." Russian officials have already warned of a military response to the U.S. plans, but the statement by the Russian leader was likely to further aggravate already tense relations with the West. The comments come after Medvedev recognized two Georgian regions as independent nations, prompting criticism from the U.S. and Europe.

In a move that angered Russia, the U.S. sent the missile destroyer USS McFaul to Batumi to deliver 34 tons of humanitarian aid on Sunday. The McFaul left Batumi on Tuesday but would remain in the Black Sea area, said Commander Scott Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy's 6th Fleet in Naples, Italy.

In Moscow, the deputy head of the Russian military's general staff lashed out at the U.S. naval operation,
"We are worried" about the way aid is delivered on warships." 10 ships from NATO nations were currently in the Black Sea and that eight more are to join them soon.

The situation aggravated soon after Condoleezza Rice’s visit to Georgia.
July 10-  2008- U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice was in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, for talks with President Saakashvili. The country's accession to NATO's Membership Action Plan and the situation in Georgia's breakaway republics dominated the agenda. Ahead of the visit, Rice said the U.S. administration believes it can help Georgia resolve the conflicts with its breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Full News Video Here

Aug 20-2008 The United States and Poland signed a deal  to place a U.S. missile defense base just 115 miles from Russia, a move followed swiftly by a new warning from Moscow of a possible military response Video of Meeting with Secretary Rice

Background News
Centuries Old Conflict - Genocide is a deliberate destruction, completely or partially, of an ethnic, religious, or national groups. And according to some experts, this is what Georgia has been doing with Ossetians over the centuries. Georgia vs. South Ossetia: a story of genocide

Previously, the only way for Caspian energy to reach European consumers was via the Russian pipeline system. Southern Energy Oil and Gas Pipeline Bypasses Russia

Aug 15-2008 Moscow absolutely does not want its relations with the West to worsen over the recent events in South Ossetia, said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

Aug 15-2008 The Interfax news agency reported that a top Russian general said Poland's agreement to accept a U.S. missile interceptor base exposes Poland to attack, possibly by nuclear weapons. The statement by Deputy Chief of Staff, Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn is the strongest threat that Russia has issued against the plans to put missile defense elements in former Soviet satellite nations. Poland, by deploying (the system) is exposing itself to a strike - 100 percent," Nogovitsyn, was quoted as saying. He added, in clear reference to the agreement, that Russia's military doctrine sanctions the use of nuclear weapons "against the allies of countries having nuclear weapons if they in some way help them." Russian forces have seized a "large arsenal" of U.S.-made weapons in the western Georgian city of Senaki. We seized a large arsenal of weapons including 664 U.S.-made M-16 rifles" and a number of M-40 sniper rifles, General Anatoly Nogovitsyn told a news conference in Moscow. "There were 1,728 weapons total."

U.S. proposes a missile defense system in Europe to contain Russia

Aug 14-2008 The United States and Poland reached a long-stalled deal on Thursday to place an American missile defense base on Polish territory, in the strongest reaction so far to Russia's military operation in Georgia. Full Story Below

US Hampering Russian peace efforts says Russian Prime Minister

President Dmitry Medvedev said Russia's actions were a response to Georgia's assault on its citizens as well as the peacekeepers Russia has had in South Ossetia since the disputed region broke away from Georgia in the early 1990s.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has sought support from U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana and his counterparts in France and Germany, according to an interview with BBC television that was published on the ministry's Web site. He and Rice spoke three times yesterday, the ministry said.

Lavrov said 1,500 civilians and 15 Russian peacekeepers have been killed so far, while Deputy Chief of the General Staff Anatoly Nogovitsyn said that two Russian aircraft had been shot down. Georgia has shot down 12 planes, three pilots were captured alive and a fourth was found dead, Lomaia said.

Georgia must withdraw its forces from South Ossetia and sign a non-aggression pact with the region and then ``the situation can calm down,'' Lavrov said.

In accordance with international agreements, including the agreement of 1999, Russia does not only execute peacemaking functions, but is obliged, in case one party breaks the cease-fire agreement, to defend the other party, which is exactly what we are doing in case with South Ossetia,” stated. Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin

Battles in South Ossetia continued throughout the night. Russian sources said that about 2,000 people had been killed in South Ossetia. Ossetian journalists wrote on their website that Georgian troops had captured a group of refugees from one of the regions of S. Ossetia. The Georgian military men locked them in a house and set the house on fire, burning all the people inside alive. An Ossetian woman informed Russian Prime Minister Putin of the hideous crime during his visit to a refugee camp

Russia’s Air Force already prevented Georgia’s aggression against South Ossetia a month ago. The situation aggravated soon after Condoleezza Rice’s visit to Georgia. It is not ruled out that Ms. Rice okayed the beginning of the war in the region on behalf of the US administration.

US presidential candidate John McCain said that Russia should not interfere in the conflict in South Ossetia. The pro-Georgian propaganda in the US media testifies to the same opinion. It brings up the idea that the Georgian aggression against the unrecognized republic of South Ossetia has been coordinated with the US administration.

Apparently, McCain and other US experts believe that the extermination of thousands of innocent people and the destruction of their houses can be referred to as the retrieval of the territorial integrity.

Taking McCain’s remarks into consideration, one shall assume that the USA has provided certain guarantees to Georgia. The Georgian troops would not have opened fire on Russian peacemakers otherwise. Such battles inevitably lead to a war against Russia. Georgia would not dare to proceed so alone, without the support from the West. Furthermore, Georgia asked the USA to withdraw its contingent from Iraq to redeploy the military men to South Ossetia.

The evidence to proof the USA’s hand behind the Georgian aggression against South Ossetia can be found in Western media. Western news agencies, Reuters, for example, have been distributing countless photographs depicting Russia’s supposed atrocities in Georgia. Such photos along with adequate headlines can be found in practically all US newspapers (The New York Times is the best example for it). All of them unanimously accuse Russia of aggression against Georgia, but they do not say a word about Georgia’s actions against civilians in S. Ossetia.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry accused Ukraine of encouraging Georgia to interventions and ethnic cleansings in South Ossetia. Russia also claimed that Ukraine had armed Georgia to the teeth. Georgia’s ground forces possess weapons, ammunition, unmanned aircraft, night vision goggles and other equipment made in Israel.

Israel’s Defense Ministry recommended to cease arms shipments to Georgia after the start of military actions in South Ossetia, not to provoke Russia.

Battles in South Ossetia continued throughout the night. Russian sources said that about 2,000 people had been killed in South Ossetia.

Mikheil Saakashvili won the presidential elections in Georgia. He received an LLM from Columbia Law School in 1994 and Doctor of Laws degree from The George Washington University Law School in the United States the following year. According to the World Bank accounts, Georgia is named as the number one economic reformer in the world and the country ranks as 18 in term of ease of doing business

Georgia wants to join NATO , but Russia opposes the move, concerned that the alliance's eastward march will erode its influence. NATO rejected Georgia's membership bid in April despite strong lobbying from U.S. President Bush, though the alliance promised that Georgia could join at a later date.

http://english.pravda.ru/hotspots/conflicts/11-08-2008/106053-georgia_ossetia_russia-0

NEWS UPDATE Aug 15-2008
The United States and Poland reached a long-stalled deal on Thursday to place an American missile defense base on Polish territory, in the strongest reaction so far to Russia's military operation in Georgia.

Russia reacted angrily, saying that the move would worsen relations with the United States that have already been strained severely in the week since Russian troops entered separatist enclaves in Georgia, a close American ally.

But the deal reflected growing alarm in countries like Poland, once a conquered Soviet client state, about a newly rich and powerful Russia's intentions in its former cold war sphere of power. In fact, negotiations dragged on for 18 months — but were completed only as old memories and new fears surfaced in recent days.

Those fears were codified to some degree in what Polish and American officials characterized as unusual aspects of the final deal: that at least temporarily American soldiers would staff air defense sites in Poland oriented toward Russia, and that the United States would be obliged to defend Poland in case of an attack with greater speed than required under NATO, of which Poland is a member.

Polish officials said the agreement would strengthen the mutual commitment of the United States to defend Poland, and vice versa. "Poland and the Poles do not want to be in alliances in which assistance comes at some point later — it is no good when assistance comes to dead people," the Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, said on Polish television. "Poland wants to be in alliances where assistance comes in the very first hours of — knock on wood — any possible conflict."


A sense of deepened suspicions — and the more darkly drawn lines between countries in the region — were also apparent in the emotional reaction from Russia.

"It is this kind of agreement, not the split between Russia and United States over the problem of South Ossetia, that may have a greater impact on the growth in tensions in Russian-American relations," Konstantin Kosachyov, chairman of the foreign affairs committee in the Russian Parliament, told the Interfax news agency on Thursday in Moscow.

South Ossetia is the pro-Russian enclave inside Georgia where Russia sent troops last week, following a military crackdown by the pro-Western government in Georgia.

The missile defense deal was announced by Polish officials and confirmed by the White House. Under it, Poland would host an American base with 10 interceptors designed to shoot down a limited number of ballistic missiles, in theory launched by a future adversary such as Iran. A tracking radar system would be based in the Czech Republic. The system is expected to be in place by 2012.

In exchange for providing the base, Poland would get what the two sides called "enhanced security cooperation," notably a top-of-the-line Patriot air defense system that can shoot down shorter-range missiles or attacking fighters or bombers.

A senior Pentagon official described an unusual part of this quid pro quo: an American Patriot battery would be moved from Germany to Poland, where it would be operated by a crew of about 100 American military personnel. The expenses would be shared by both nations. American troops would join the Polish military, at least temporarily, at the front lines — facing east toward Russia.

Russia has long opposed the deal, saying the United States was violating post-cold-war agreements not to base its troops in former Soviet bloc states and devising a Trojan Horse system designed to counter Russia's nuclear arsenal, not an attack by Iran or another adversary.

Stop-and-start negotiations over the arrangement that was sealed Thursday had been under way for almost two years, with the Polish government reluctant to press the deal in the face of strong opposition — and retaliatory threats — from Moscow.

For its part, Washington had balked at some of Poland's demands, in particular the sale of advanced air defense systems that were unrelated to shooting down ballistic missiles.

But in a sign of the widening repercussions of the conflict in Georgia, those concerns were cast aside, as the offensive by Russia's military across its borders was viewed around the world as a sign of Moscow's determination to reimpose its influence across the old Soviet bloc.

Polish officials, in announcing the agreement, said it would be presented to the national legislature, although it remained unclear whether the American base would require a vote of approval.

The other half of the American missile defense system in Europe would be an advanced radar in the Czech Republic for tracking specific targets and then precisely guiding an interceptor to destroy a warhead. Likewise, that deal has been signed by the country's leaders, and is awaiting debate in the Czech Parliament.

At the White House, the press secretary, Dana Perino, confirmed that senior officials had initialed the agreement. "In no way is the president's plan for missile defense aimed at Russia," she said. "In fact, it's just not even logically possible for it to be aimed at Russia, given how Russia could overwhelm it. The purpose of missile defense is to protect our European allies from any rogue threats, such as a missile from Iran."

The Bush administration, in an attempt to prove its sincerity and transparency, had invited Moscow to join as a partner in a continentwide missile defense system, sharing information and technology with NATO allies.

While Russian and American experts have discussed cooperation, senior officials in Moscow have kept up a nonstop stream of complaints about the system.

The agreement also poses potential political problems for Democratic critics of missile defense who would be fighting to cut financing for the program in the face of the specific request from Poland and in light of the Russian offensive into Georgia.

There is no such ambivalence on Russia's periphery, where Moscow's attack signaled danger, and offered logic for closer ties with Washington and NATO.

In Poland, the war in Georgia has dominated the front pages of newspapers, where it has been starkly characterized as Russian invaders attacking Georgia. For Poles, Russia's actions also come as a vindication of Poland's distrust of its former conqueror and was a warning about issues like energy security, one of the primary areas in which a resurgent Russia first began to exert itself.

"We are worried that we are facing, under the strong arm of Russia, a situation where some kind of understanding would be reached that Russia would be given a free hand in the region," said Eugeniusz Smolar, director of the Center for International Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research group in Warsaw.

Thom Shanker reported from Washington, and Nicholas Kulish from Tbilisi, Georgia. Clifford J. Levy contributed reporting from Moscow.





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