PEACE IN GEORGIA

 Russia, at odds with Western powers over Georgia, vetoed on Monday a Western plan to extend the mandate of a U.N. mission in the former Soviet republic, in a death blow to the 130-strong observer force. There were 10 votes in favor and four abstentions, one of which was China's. No country joined Russia in voting against. Reuter reports:

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The European Union extended its hand to six former Soviet republics: Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia on Thursday at a summit meant to draw them closer into the EU orbit despite Russia's deep misgivings. Presidents, premiers and their deputies from 33 nations are signing an agreement meant to extend the EU's political and economic ties.
Read further for EUOBSERVER article from  Brussels .

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Georgia managed to advance the implementation of European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) action plan in some of key areas, but “less progress” was made in others, including in media freedom, according to an annual progress report released by the European Commission on April 23.
The progress report on Georgia says that despite number of “extraordinary events” in 2008, including the August war and early parliamentary and presidential elections, Georgia managed to made achievements in “the fight against corruption, reforms in the rule of law area, especially in facilitating access to justice, improving detention conditions in the penitentiary system and efforts to combat torture and inhumane and degrading treatment.”
“Georgia made less progress in the implementation of some other key objectives of the ENP Action Plan,” the report reads. “Media freedom and pluralism remain areas of concern. Injecting new momentum into political reforms, economic recovery, the effective implementation of a comprehensive national IDP strategy and more consistent alignment with the EU regulatory system as well as advancing sectoral reforms, will continue to be key challenges in 2009.”
 

source chicagotribune.com

In the aftermath of World War II, the United States and Europe created the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to try to ensure the mutual security of its members and bring lasting peace to Europe. Nearly 60 years later, that once well-defined mission has taken some extraordinary turns.
NATO soldiers today are fighting a Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, protecting UN food ships from pirates operating off the Somali coast and training police in Iraq. Last year, NATO forces helped train and airlift African Union troops into Darfur; the year before they flew relief supplies to Pakistani earthquake victims. A coalition that until 13 years ago had just 16 members and had never conducted a military operation now relies on troops from 26 member nations to operate multiple missions at once—missions not all the members agree on.
As President-elect Barack Obama takes office, one of his key jobs will be helping NATO—an organization that has seen its Cold War focus shift to more amorphous counter-terrorism and peacekeeping—hold together and remake itself for an age of new threats, from a nuclear-armed Iran to a resurgent, saber-rattling Russia.
"It's the perennial problem: How do you reinvent NATO?" asked Robin Shepherd, a trans-Atlantic expert at Chatham House, one of London's key foreign-policy think tanks. "Both sides of the Atlantic want to sustain NATO and keep its energy going, but there are difficult questions to answer."

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       AFP photos            
"Nato is becoming the battle-ground for competing national positions rather than being the place where things are resolved," - says Nato diplomat. Read the article about NATO FM meeting by Jonathan Marcus, Diplomatic correspondent for BBC News. 
" The atmosphere in the run-up to this meeting of Nato foreign ministers was acrimonious. One diplomatic insider likened it to "bureaucratic trench-warfare" with all sides digging in and the gap between national positions seemingly unbridgeable. In the event Nato has reached agreement, both on what its Secretary General Jaap De Hoop Schefferon describes as "a conditional and graduated re-engagement with Russia", and on a mechanism for promoting political and military reforms in Georgia and Ukraine which will help to keep them on track towards eventual Nato membership. The argument on Georgia and Ukraine was about means rather than ends," - Jonathan Marcus reports.

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European Union leaders have agreed to suspend talks on a new partnership agreement with Moscow until Russian troops have withdrawn from Georgia.  EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said it was clear it could not "continue as if nothing had happened", after an emergency summit in Brussels. The EU also condemned Russia's move to recognise the independence of Georgia's regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Russia said the talks suspension had damaged the credibility of the bloc. "It is more of a self-punishment for the European Union because this does not improve the EU's credibility as a negotiating partner," Russia's envoy to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, said. 

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EUROPEAN UNION
September 1, 2008
12594/08 2

The meeting of the European Council was preceded by an exposé by the President of the  European Parliament, Mr Hans-Gert Pöttering, followed by an exchange of views.

1. The European Council is gravely concerned by the open conflict which has broken out in Georgia, by the resulting violence and by the disproportionate reaction of Russia. This conflict has led to great suffering on both sides. Military action of this kind is not a solution and is not acceptable. The European Council deplores the loss of human life, the suffering inflicted on the population, the number of displaced persons and refugees, and the considerable material damage.

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By Vladimir Socor
Eurasia Daily Monitor

Saturday, August 30, 2008

 

By David Alexander, BREGANCON, France (Reuters) -   U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will ask Georgia's president on Friday to sign a French-negotiated ceasefire that contains some apparent concessions to Moscow but would lead to the withdrawal of Russian forces, officials said.

 

Associated Press writers in Europe, Turkey and the Middle East contributed to this report
Major international aid commitments to Georgia to help victims of the Russian-Georgian conflict:

_The International Committee of the Red Cross, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and the U.N.'s World Food Program have been providing aid through long-standing operations in Georgia. In addition:
_ICRC dispatched the first of five new shipments of food and other supplies for 25,000 people.
_World Food Program sent two planeloads of high-energy biscuits.
_U.N. refugee agency has sent two planeloads of supplies and plans a third flight Friday.
_U.S. sent two cargo planes carrying US$2 million (€1.3 million) worth of sleeping bags, cots, medical supplies — including syringes and surgical supplies.
_Turkish Red Crescent has sent tents, blankets, bottled water and food, and a new truck convoy is to leave Thursday. Turkish government to dispatch medical aid.

The source obtained from:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/08/20080813.html

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. I've just met with my national security team to discuss the crisis in Georgia. I've spoken with President Saakashvili of Georgia, and President Sarkozy of France this morning. The United States strongly supports France's efforts, as President of the European Union, to broker an agreement that will end this conflict. The United States of America stands with the democratically elected government of Georgia. We insist that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia be respected.

I just wonder, ok, obviously Russia would win, it's ridiculous to debate about it, but!!! They won the fight, will they win the war?

I just wonder, Russia says it is fighting in defence of Russian citizens in South Ossetia. Who will they claim to be defending tomorrow? Russians in the Ukraine, Russians in the Baltic states who are already members of the EU and Nato? Interesingly surprising... 

When Ms Rice uses tough words, saying Russia had "seriously overreached" itself and "This is not 1968 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia where Russia can threaten a neighbour, occupy a capital, overthrow a government and get away with it. Things have changed." I wonder what have changed and looking forward to those changes if so....

I wonder when Mark MacKinnon, a Globe and Mail reporter says Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili seriously misjudged the nature of how much help he could expect from the West , adding "Nobody wants to die for South Ossetia," does he wonder that there are other political-diplomatic methods in order to avoid such detriment ?! If EU didn't step in Baltic and other ex-communist countries' direction, would he mind about the same problems (that Georgia has) in Latvia or Poland? Or just because now they are EU citizens it makes differenece between Dead Georgians and dead EU citizens, Russian agression in Tallin and the same Agression in Gori?! does it?!! That is why EU and NATO should care more about those "others" inspired with joining western institutions. If Georgia was in NATO nothing would happen... Everybody wants to be part of some "family" .... and once some countries are In some their citizens openly start telling us how owful EU is and how much nobody cares about Georgia, saying why can't we be happy without EU or NATO knowing nothing about Georgias location, not saying about (at least) recent history and politics. May be EU should become less egocentric and more attentive to it's doorstep countries? Telling them that Russia isn't reliable gas supplier, I don't mean that Russia will be run out of gas or oil next week (even after 10 years). I just want to remind them one simle truth: Russia will use it's monopoly over gas supply as a weapon everytime it wishs. Sounds a  simple truth, but .......

I wonder if following comments are too exaggerated and just for public. "I don't mean to sound dramatic here, but I think this is the most dramatic foreign policy event since Sept. 11," James Carafano of the conservative Heritage Foundation told CTV Newsnet on Wednesday. "This will fundamentally change how countries think about how they're going to provide security in the decades ahead." And another: "The European Union cannot be indifferent to this war, these massacres on our doorstep," said French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.  I wonder, how?! 

I wonder, if Russian WAR-KEEPERS, oops, sorry "peacekeepers" leave Georgia tomorrow .......