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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Russia mocks West's displeasure over war in Georgia |
| 2008-08-26 |
| The Kremlin on Monday said it was more than happy to be locked out of international institutions as it poured scorn on Western attempts to punish Russia over its invasion of Georgia. Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, said he was not bothered if more than a decade of post Cold War rapprochement with Nato was halted altogether. "We are ready to accept any decisions up to halting relations altogether," he said. The president also issued a chilly warning to Moldova of a military response if it followed the Georgian example of trying to regain control of its own breakaway region of Transdniester, whose rebel leadership has long been backed by Russia. The hard line approach was adopted by Vladimir Putin, the prime minister, who said he saw no merit in joining the World Trade Organization even though Russia has had an outstanding membership application since 1995. "We don't feel or see any advantages from membership, if they exist at all," he said. While he did not formally abandon accession negotiations, Mr Putin announced that Russia was pulling out of commitments it had earlier signed that were seen as pre-requisites for membership. The international community has so far limited its response to Russia's occupation of large parts of Georgia to strong words and veiled hints of further diplomatic retribution. Nato has frozen some contacts with Russia, while the United States has warned Moscow's ambitions for membership in international bodies like the WTO were being jeopardized by the conflict. The tough talk from the Russians on Monday, described by one western envoy as the "bring it on" school of diplomacy, seemed to have some of the desired effect as Britain swiftly issued a plea to Moscow not to suspend all contacts with Nato. So far, however, the European Union's response has proved embarrassingly ineffective as Russia has repeatedly reneged on the terms of the truce by maintaining its military presence in Georgia. The six-point peace plan, signed by Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President whose country currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, has been criticised for being imprecise, allowing Russia to exploit ambiguities over troop withdrawal. Georgia is pressing the European Union to commit to "fully fledged peace-keeping operations". EU diplomats and senior security officials meet in Brussels on Tuesday to prepare for an emergency summit of Europe's leaders, including Gordon Brown, scheduled for next Monday. Salome Samadashvili, Georgia's Ambassador to the EU, said: "So far the EU has been very fearful. We hope the meeting [on Monday] ... will end with real proposals for the EU to take a leading role in the peace process...The first thing is to get Russian troops off our soil. The second is a peace process lead by the EU." Upping the ante further on Monday, Mr Medvedev issued a warning to Vladimir Voronin, the president of Moldova: "After the Georgian leadership lost their marbles, as they say, all the problems got worse and a military conflict erupted...This is a serious warning, a warning to all - and I believe we should handle other existing conflicts within this context." Russia's parliament unanimously voted to recognize the unilaterally declared independence of Georgia's rebel regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, significantly increasing tensions in the area. The vote, which needs to be ratified by Mr Medvedev, was a cause for "regret", the Foreign Office said. In Georgia itself, Russian soldiers maintained their presence outside the strategic city of Gori as well as on the road connecting the town of Zugdidi, in the west of the country, with the Black Sea port of Poti. Residents of Gori also returned to apartment blocks heavily damaged from Russian aerial bombardment during the five-day war. After surveying the wreckage of her BMW in a crushed garage, Nino Lumadze climbed a rubble-strewn stairwell to the ruins of her flat. Surveying the twisted remains of a bed frame and the charred pages of once-prized books scattered across her living room, she shook her head in disbelief. "I worked hard to accumulate these few comforts," she said. "It takes a long time to earn enough money to buy a car or television. Suddenly I have nothing. Who is going to help us now?" |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #10 If I'm not mistaken, aren't they still buying grain from us? If so, I think there should be some "questions" about the export licenses arising at a strategic time - like just before winter. |
| Posted by: A Very Reasonable Man 2008-08-26 20:49 |
| #9 Ivan is getting a bit more |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-08-26 13:52 |
| #8 If we really want to punish Russia, ban them from the Olympics for 20 or 30 years. Watch them scream! The WTO thingie isn't a biggie, but ejecting them from the G8 would be. The EU should post a 200% tariff on all Russian imports, including oil and gas, and begin buying from elsewhere. Russia needs to learn there are consequences for their behavior. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2008-08-26 12:36 |
| #7 how much have living standards really adjusted upward since oil was at $60 a barrel? If oil fell to $90, would ordinary folks in Russia feel it? |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2008-08-26 11:03 |
| #6 Strategic. The price of oil is going to fall dramatically. The Russkies will continue to stir the pot to (1) keep the price up to the extent they can and (2) to keep the folks at home riled up about the Evil Americans. With oil down significantly the standard of living is bound to fall. Falling oil prices were a large part of the reason the Soviet Union fell in '89. Having the Evil Americans as a domestic distraction will help ease the pain. So will more vodka. Withdrawing from WOT allows Putin to keep out cheaper imports to keep uncompetitive |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-08-26 10:44 |
| #5 nah, they russian stock market is down, and other bad financial things are already happening. "Punish me, I dont care, I dont want anything from you anyway" is tactical, and anyone whos spent much time on schoolyards already knows it. Id be surprised folks here would buy it, if I didnt know about y'alls a priori belief in teh toothlessness of international orgs. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2008-08-26 09:08 |
| #4 Sorta like Japan pulling out of the toothless pre-UN League of Nations over Manchuria. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-08-26 08:56 |
| #3 Vladimir Putin, the prime minister, who said he saw no merit in joining the World Trade Organization hmmm... |
| Posted by: Betty Grating2215 2008-08-26 07:16 |
| #2 The tough talk from the Russians on Monday, described by one western envoy as the "bring it on" school of diplomacy, seemed to have some of the desired effect as Britain swiftly issued a plea to Moscow not to suspend all contacts with Nato. This is worse than sad. And Moldova has been put in the batter's circle. We should let the EUros know we are pulling out of Nato, too. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-08-26 06:33 |
| #1 BIGNEWSNETWORK > IRAN WARNS USA NOT TO INTERFERE IN CAUCASUS CRISIS. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-08-26 02:42 |