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US ambassador to UN calls Russian attacks "campaign of terror"
Whoa. UNITED NATIONS, Aug 10 (Reuters) - The United States suggested on Sunday that Russia was interested in "regime change" in Georgia after Moscow rejected Tbilisi's offer of a cease-fire in the separatist region of South Ossetia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had told U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that the president of Georgia "must go," the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, told the Security Council. Khalilzad then looked straight at Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin and asked if Moscow was looking for "regime change." "Is the goal of the Russian Federation to change the leadership of Georgia?" he said. Churkin did not directly address the question but said there are leaders who "become an obstacle." "Sometimes those leaders need to contemplate how useful they have become to their people," Churkin told reporters later. "Regime change is purely an American invention," he said. "We're all for democracy in Georgia." And then his lips fell off, as the saying goes. In Moscow, Lavrov said the departure of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was not a must to solve the crisis but that Russia no longer saw him as a partner. And then his eyes popped out. Khalilzad told reporters the telephone call between Rice and Lavrov was "disturbing," adding that the days of overthrowing European governments by force were over. The U.S. envoy said he would introduce a U.N. resolution condemning Moscow, even though Russia is a permanent council member with the power to veto it. Now that's rhetorical escalation. Russian troops took the capital of the separatist Georgian region of South Ossetia earlier after a three-day battle as Georgian forces retreated and the Tbilisi government offered a cease-fire and talks. 'CAMPAIGN OF TERROR' Georgian envoy Irakli Alasania told the Security Council that Churkin's comments were all "Soviet propaganda" and said Russia intended to repeat what it did in Chechnya. Moscow plans to "erase Georgian statehood and exterminate the Georgian people," he said. Khalilzad said Russia was waging "terror" in Georgia. "We must condemn Russia's military assault on the sovereign state of Georgia ... including the targeting of civilians and the campaign of terror against the Georgian population," he said. That is an astounding statement in UN-speak. We (the US) will either have to muzzle our ambassador or back that statement, using force if necessary. Khalilzad also accused Russia of preventing the withdrawal of Georgian forces from South Ossetia to prolong the conflict and prevent Georgia from laying down its arms. "Since Russia is impeding Georgian forces from withdrawing, rejecting a cease-fire and continuing to carry out military attacks against civilian centers, its claims of a humanitarian purpose clearly are not credible," Khalilzad said. Churkin reacted angrily at the suggestion that Russia was guilty of terrorizing Georgians. "This statement, ambassador, is completely unacceptable, particularly from the lips of the permanent representative of a country whose actions we are aware of, including with regard to the civilian populations in Iraq and Afghanistan and Serbia," Churkin told the council. "Whatever your policy might be, please do not undertake propaganda within the Security Council." IOW : Are you serious? Excuse me, I have to change my trousers ... Churkin also accused the United States of military collusion with Georgia, saying Moscow knew very well that there was a large number of U.S. military advisers there. He said he hoped Washington did not give a "green light" for the Georgian invasion that sparked the conflict. (Editing by John O'Callaghan) Posted by: mrp 2008-08-10 |
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