Tense Georgia awaits Russian truce signature

NF Reporter · 08-16-2008, 05:42 AM

AP - Russian soldiers dug foxholes 30 miles outside of Georgia's capital Saturday while Georgian police milled about, a quietly tense scene reflecting the uncertainty in the troubled region as both sides waited for Russia's president to sign a proposed truce.

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waltky · 08-16-2008, 03:28 PM

Russia scarin' the bejeebers outta East Europe...

East Europe Tries To Protect Itself From Russia
Aug. 16, 2008 - Eastern European Countries Fear An Emboldened Russia, Scramble To Shore Up Security

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Poland strikes a deal on a U.S. missile defense base. Ukraine tries to limit the Russian navy's movement in its waters. The Czech Republic's leader warns his nation is in danger of being sucked back into Moscow's orbit. Russia's attack on Georgia has sparked fears across the young democracies of Eastern Europe that Moscow is once again hungry for conquest _ and they are scrambling to protect themselves by tightening security alliances with Western powers. On Friday, Moscow sent a new jolt through the region when a top Russian general was quoted as saying that the missile defense deal signed the previous day by Washington and Warsaw exposes Poland to an attack.

"Poland, by deploying (the system) is exposing itself to a strike _ 100 percent," Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn said, according to Interfax News Agency. Around the region, memories are being revived of the darkest days of Soviet oppression. In Prague, where Czechs on Wednesday will mark the 40th anniversary of the Soviet invasion that crushed a reform movement, Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek expressed fears of history repeating itself.

"The Russian tanks on the streets of Georgian towns remind us ... of the invasion in 1968," Topolanek wrote in Mlada Fronta Dnes daily, the country's biggest newspaper. "But it is not just history. It is still, even now, a relevant question whether we will or will not belong to the sphere of Russian influence." He appealed to his political opponents to support his unpopular plan to host a U.S. missile defense shield. Since fighting broke out more than a week ago between Russia and Georgia, the crisis has dominated headlines and sparked pro-Georgia rallies across Eastern Europe.

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waltky · 09-04-2008, 11:27 PM

Tiptoein' through the tulips...

US wary of punishing Russia for conflict with Georgia
Sep 4,`08 : The Bush administration does not plan to draw up a "mindless list" of penalties that could alienate Russia because of its recent conflict with Georgia.

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Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Daniel Fried said Washington is keen to know how much Russia would like to isolate itself from the world. We don't want to have a bad relationship with Russia. We've never wanted that," the New York Times quoted Fried, as saying. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has asked her advisers to "think this (stand-off with Russia) through in a serious way," as the Bush Administration is nearing its end.

With the European Union failing to reach an agreement Monday on imposing sanctions for Moscow's invasion of Georgia, Fried has been consulting with EU officials on "next steps," to be taken, if any, against Moscow. Meanwhile, Vice-President Dick Cheney is on a visit to Georgia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan to assess the fall out of the conflict.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has ordered a review of military cooperation agreements with Russia as part of a wider evaluation of relations in response to the continued presence of Russian troops in parts of Georgia. The review, a Pentagon spokesman said, encompasses the Pentagon's Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), a program to combat the proliferation of nuclear, biological, chemical and other weapons of mass destruction.

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Cheney offers US backing for Georgia's NATO bid
Sep 4, `08 - Vice President Dick Cheney insisted that Georgia will join NATO and backed its attempts to rebuild from its war with Russia on Thursday, using a trip to former Soviet republics as a show of U.S. support for their pro-Western leaders.

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Cheney flew to Kiev from Georgia, where he denounced Russia's "illegitimate, unilateral attempt" to redraw the U.S. ally's borders by force. "Georgia will be in our alliance," Cheney told reporters while standing alongside Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, whose pro-Western government has sought to join NATO despite Russian opposition.

Angry Russian officials have repeatedly said U.S. military aid was instrumental in emboldening Georgia to try to retake South Ossetia by force on Aug. 7. The attack sparked five days of fighting and resulted in Russian forces driving into South Ossetia and on into Georgia. Speaking in Moscow, Konstantin Kosachyov, head of foreign affairs committee in the Kremlin-controlled lower house, accused Cheney of trying to forge an "anti-Russian axis."

"It's Cheney who was behind all recent events on the former Soviet turf," Kosachyov said in televised remarks. The vice president's trip was intended as a signal that the U.S. will continue cultivating close ties with Georgia and its neighbors even after Russia showed it was willing to use military force against countries along its border. Before Georgia, Cheney also stopped in oil-rich Azerbaijan.

More My Way News - Cheney offers US backing for Georgia's NATO bid