West pressures Russia for full Georgia withdrawal

Monday 25th August, 06:12 AM JST

TBILISI —

The West on Sunday ratcheted up pressure on Russia to withdraw its troops from Georgia, with the EU announcing a crisis summit as a U.S. warship arrived at a Georgian port.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, had served notice he was ready to convene a special summit if Russia failed to pull back its troops from Georgia.

European leaders are to meet in Brussels on Sept 1 to discuss the future of EU relations with Russia and aid to Georgia, a statement from Sarkozy’s office said.

A U.S. Navy destroyer carrying relief supplies arrived at a Black Sea port in Georgia in a sign of U.S. support for its ally that provided a conspicuous display of NATO military might.

The USS McFaul dropped anchor off Batumi, 50 kilometers south of the Russian-occupied port of Poti, the first of three ships carrying aid to help Georgia deal with an estimated 100,000 displaced people.

A top Russian general on Saturday accused NATO countries of using humanitarian aid as “cover” for a build-up of naval forces in the Black Sea, heightening tension in the aftermath of the conflict.

A U.S. coast guard ship passed through the Turkish straits on Sunday en route for Georgia while the USS Mount Whitney, the flagship of the U.S. Mediterranean Sixth Fleet was to set sail for the Black Sea at the end of the month.

Russia withdrew tanks, artillery and hundreds of troops from their most advanced positions in Georgia on Friday, saying it had fulfilled all obligations under a French-brokered peace agreement.

But Russian troops still control access to Poti, south of the Moscow-backed rebel region of Abkhazia, and have established other checkpoints around South Ossetia, where the conflict began.

The six-point peace plan negotiated by France has been interpreted differently by Russia and the West, with Russia claiming it has the right to leave peacekeepers deep inside Georgia in a buffer zone.

France, Britain, the United States, NATO and other Western powers have demanded Russia pull back further.

In further fallout from the conflict, a train carrying fuel from Azerbaijan exploded just west of Gori in central Georgia, creating a noxious cloud of black smoke visible from kilometers away.

Georgia’s interior ministry said the explosion on the rail track, a vital east-west link across Georgia, was the result of a mine laid by retreating Russian troops. No casualties were reported.

Acting as head of the European Union, Sarkozy had telephoned his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday and asked him to withdraw his forces from a road linking Poti to Senaki in western Georgia.

“No withdrawal has been mentioned today. The Russians are keeping all their previous illegal checkpoints,” Georgian National Security Council secretary Alexander Lomaia said.

Lomaia said Russian forces were also maintaining eight positions around the separatist region of South Ossetia in central Georgia, including one a few kilometers from Gori on the main road into the region.

Russian troops poured into Georgia on Aug 8 to repel a Georgian attempt to regain control of the breakaway region of South Ossetia, which is backed by Moscow.

After smashing Georgia’s small US-trained army in South Ossetia, Russian troops then fanned out through Abkhazia, another pro-Moscow breakaway region in the west, and pushed far into Georgian territory.

Moscow retains full control of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and says it has the right to establish a buffer zone beyond taking in stretches of the main east-west highway linking Tbilisi to Poti.

The speedy military victory over Georgia, which is pressing for membership of NATO, stunned Western powers and plunged relations between Russia and the West to their lowest point since the end of the Cold War.

Analysts see Georgia’s pro-Western path and determination to join NATO as key issues in the conflict, with Russia angered by the prospect of another neighboring country being part of the Western military alliance.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko called for stronger efforts for his country to join NATO on Sunday, saying Ukraine shares Georgia’s “pain” in its conflict with Russia.

Some parts of Georgia were flickering back to life, with the previously deserted streets of Gori bustling with traffic.

“People are coming back bit by bit,” said Gori resident Tariel Japaridze, who stayed in the city throughout its bombardment.

“But we are still scared. How can we be sure there is not going to be another war? The Russian troops have only gone back 10 kilometers outside the city,” he said.

Wire reports

12 Comments

adaydream at 01:07 PM JST - 25th August

If you put your ear down to the ground, hold your breath and say I think they are ... I think they are ... and you can hear the Russians leaving Georgia right now.

Too late now. They quit moving. < :-)
Statistician at 01:47 PM JST - 25th August

Bet them pesky Russkies are really shaking in their boots at the sight of Uncle Sam delivering bottled water.

Nice to see someone else putting the Bush administration in their place.
reddragonguy at 01:58 PM JST - 25th August

A top Russian general on Saturday accused NATO countries of using humanitarian aid as “cover” for a build-up of naval forces in the Black Sea, heightening tension in the aftermath of the conflict.

That was absolutely a declaring war on Russia....the pentagon is very weak and they have no cards can play over this......it was a show of weakness to send a single destroyer which is an expensedable!
reddragonguy at 01:59 PM JST - 25th August

The KGB man was serious concerning the radars in Poland and Czech...another Cuban missles crsis 2
adaydream at 02:08 PM JST - 25th August

reddragonguy, I've been calling these actions pushing toward the cold-war for months. < :-)
SuperLib at 02:49 PM JST - 25th August

Too late now. They quit moving. < :-)

You seem to be getting quite a bit of pleasure from the situation. Does it excite you to have Russian soldiers in Georgia? Be honest....
presto345 at 05:11 PM JST - 25th August

Russians will always be Russians? Ruffians? How do I pronounce it?
sabiwabi at 06:01 PM JST - 25th August

A top Russian general on Saturday accused NATO countries of using humanitarian aid as “cover” for a build-up of naval forces in the Black Sea, heightening tension in the aftermath of the conflict.

The Russians could further highlight Western hypocrisy by delivering via destroyers desperately needed aid to Gaza. That, I would love to see.
Everton2 at 10:35 PM JST - 25th August

The Russians are fully aware that there is little the West can do if they decide to remain permanently in Georgia. Europe is now so hooked on Russian oil that they are careful not to offend Putin and his Lieutenants. What really can Americans do except to repeat how outraged they are.
adaydream at 10:56 PM JST - 25th August

SuperLib - I get no pleasure out of this, but I'm not blinded by the high and mighty United States arrogance that some posters here like to bolster.

I see what has happened and Georgia made the first move. Russia made the next move and no matter what george bush and condi say, the extent of our actions will be humanitarian aid and that'll be it. < :-)
rajakumar at 03:21 AM JST - 26th August

Georgia/ossetia needs more help by UN/others to build back its former economy and bring back the peace .

More aid should be given to rehabilitate the region's economy .
adaydream at 12:16 AM JST - 27th August

Hey, is Russia out yet? Threaten them some more. I'm sure they're panicing. < :-)