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Russia invades Georgia - Baltic response
SOUTH OSSETIA- Following an invasion of Russian troops in Southern Ossetia in Georgia, a state of war has been declared by the Georgian Foreign Ministry. The Baltics, having worked closely with Georgiain international matters have much to say on the situation.Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Petras Vaitiekunas is currently in Georgia assessing the situation. Having arrived in Georgia and observing the situation on the spot, I agree with the assessments of the situation by the international community, that Russian military forces have crossed all red lines by crossing an internationally-recognized border into the sovereign territory of Georgia, said Vaitiekunas. He also called for an immediate ceasefire in the region. This is a clear act with visible elements of aggression and an outrageous violation of international law with grave consequences to regional and Euro-Atlantic stability and security as well as to Euroatlantic relations with Russia, stated the minister. Latvia also took a formal stance in condemning the invasive action taken by Russia. In response to the repeated appeals by the Georgian side to revert to negotiations in order to reduce the tension and to resolve the conflict, I am calling upon the Russian side to cease all military action, which could even more destabilize the situation in the region," said Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins. The National Bank of Georgiawebsite was also hit by a series of attacks and hackers placed photos of Hitler and other dictators on the homepage. Many other sites including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website were hacked as well. Reports are likening the events to the 2007 cyber attacks carried out on Estonian sites. It is estimated that hundreds of civilians and many peacekeepers are dead and many more wounded. The area of South Ossetia with a one-fifth Georgian minority, broke away from Georgia in the early 90s, wanting to reunite with North Ossetia, now a part of Russia. The situation was settled as 500 peacekeepers from Russiaand Georgiaensured a truce in the region. However, many say that Russiasided with South Ossetian separatists wanting to reunite, resulting in small clashes. Many South Ossetian citizens have Russian passports and reports from Moscow state that Russia will fight to protect those estimated 70+ percent that hold them. Following a Georgian operation to retake the town of Tskhinvali,Russiamoved its troops across the border and fighting continued into the night of August 9. The international community has taken a united stance in calling for an end to the hostilities. The three Baltic presidents signed a joint declaration stating we will use all means available to us as Presidents to ensure that aggression against a small country in Europe will not be passed over in silence or with meaningless statements equating the victims with the victimizers." Posted by: mrp 2008-08-10 |
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