Georgia/Russia News 22 AUG 2008
Note: This is an informational compilation. GMF does not endorse, either explicitly or implicitly, the content contained herein.
NEWS
Russia says pullback complete, US, France call for more
Agence France Presse (France), 22 Aug 2008
Summary: “Russia said Friday it had completed a pullback of troops from Georgia but the Georgian government challenged the claim while the United States and France called for further withdrawal…Bush and Sarkozy, who brokered the ceasefire accord, jointly called on Russia to “continue and complete” its withdrawal from Georgia, a statement from the French presidency said…NATO has condemned Russia’s military intervention and in response Russia has frozen cooperation with the Western alliance.”
Georgia Pulls Plug on Russian TV News The St. Petersburg Times (RUS), Natalya Krainova, 22 Aug 2008 Summary: Georgian broadcasters have stopped carrying transmissions by the last Russian-language television news channel operating in the republic after it aired comments by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticizing the Georgian government.
Zerschnittene Lebensadern. Russland kontrolliert Georgiens Verkehr Frankfurter Rundschau (Germany), Florian Hassel, 22 Aug 2008 Summary: Russia still controls the main lines of traffic and transport in Georgia, including the West-East-connections that grant access to the important ports of Poti and Kulewi. The Georgian government is worried that Russia will not give up control over some of these key connections, even if and after the majority of its troops leave the country.
U.S. Sees Much to Fear in a Hostile Russia New York Times (U.S.), Peter Baker, 21 Aug 2008 Summary: “If Russia’s invasion of Georgia ushers in a sustained period of renewed animosity with the West, Washington fears that a newly emboldened but estranged Moscow could use its influence, money, energy resources, United Nations Security Council veto and, yes, its arms industry to undermine American interests around the world.”
Schwächelnde Großmacht. Russland fehlt die Kraft zum Kalten Krieg Financial Times Deutschland (Germany), Eva Weikert, 22 Aug 2008 Summary: „The conflict in Georgia marks the beginning of the long struggle for dominance in Eastern Europe and Central Asia between Moscow and the West. But in the process one thing is becoming clear: Russia is less powerful than once thought.”
Syria expected to reach arm deals The Moscow Times (Russia), Oleg Shchedrov, 22 Aug 2008 Summary: Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad backed Russia’s military action against Georgia at talks with President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday that were expected to cover purchases of Russian arms. A diplomatic source in Moscow told Interfax on Wednesday that Russia and Syria were preparing a number of deals involving anti-aircraft and anti-tank missile systems.
Waiting and watching Economist, 21 Aug 2008 Summary: Turkey’s proposal of the “Caucasus Stability and Co-operation Platform” following the war in Georgia is likely to bring Armenia and Azerbaijan closer. Reconciliation between the two countries would give Azerbaijan an alternative export route for its oil and Armenia the promise of a new lifeline via Turkey. Some Armenians gloat that Russia’s invasion of Georgia will prevent Azerbaijan from retaking Nagorno-Karabakh by force, though others say the two cases are quite different.
COMMENTARY
What the West Can Do Washington Post (U.S.), Richard Holbrooke, 22 Aug 2008 Summary: “Talk about taking away the 2014 Winter Olympics or ejecting Russia from the G-8 group of major industrial nations may (or may not) have some effect on Moscow, but the most important thing the West can do now is strengthen the government in Tbilisi. The equation is simple: If Mikheil Saakashvili survives, Vladimir Putin loses.”
The Death of 1989 The New Republic (U.S.), Paul Berman, 20 Aug 2008 Summary: “The damage has already been done. It is vast, and it is irreversible, at least for a long time to come. The vast and irreversible effects of the invasion of Georgia will be felt everywhere in the ex-Soviet bloc. The invasion of Georgia shines an alarming light on the nature of political thinking within the Russian leadership. A simple, adequate, tit-for-tat response to Russia’s invasion does not exist.”
Caucasian Stability Pact nice idea, but will it work? Turkish Daily News (Turkey), Semih Idiz, 22 Aug 2008 Summary: Turkey’s proposal for a “Stability Pact for the Caucasus,” is clearly an expression of Ankara’s need to do something in the face of Russia’s invasion and occupation of Georgia. Having good relations with these two countries puts Turkey in a difficult position in this crisis. Turkey being a NATO member, and a close military ally of the United States and Turkey’s highly problematic relations with Armenia complicate the matter further.
Cold Cash, Not Cold War Slate (U.S.), Daniel Gross, 21 Aug 2008 Summary: “It’s going to be a lot harder to have a Cold War between Russia and the West in 2008 than it was in 1948…. Russia may not be a free-market paradise. But it has evolved into an important part of the global trading system and has built deep, enduring, and significant economic ties to the West. As a result, the implications of increasing tensions are as much economic as they are geopolitical. And a renewed chill between Moscow and Washington will trouble the sleep of CEOs as much as it will agitate peaceniks. On the other hand, the close economic ties make it less likely that political tensions will erupt into actual warfare since the executives in Moscow and New York (and London, and Frankfurt, and Milan …) will be lobbying for peace.”
Lobbying for War Russia Profile (Russia), Andrei Tsygankov, 21 AUG 2008 Summary: Although the principal responsibility for Georgia’s recent attack on South Ossetia lies with Tbilisi, the United States shares the blame for the resulting violence in the region. Because of American political support, economic assistance and training of the Georgian military, Tbilisi felt emboldened in its adventurism. Now that Georgia is defeated and its powerful patron humiliated, it is important to ask what actions and statements by the United States sustained the level of support that Tbilisi read as sufficient to launch a military campaign in Russia’s backyard.
POLICY INSTITUTE ANALYSIS
Why I disagree with Tom Friedman The German Marshall Fund Blog, Ronald D. Asmus, 22 Aug 2008 Summary: “If any strategic decision of the 1990s has stood the test of time, it is the decision to enlarge NATO to Central and Eastern Europe. Those suggesting that this decision is the cause of the current crisis with Russia are turning history on its head. Had we not enlarged NATO, the US today would be worse off strategically with more problems and fewer allies.”
Russian invasion of Georgia: goals and consequences East Week by Center for Eastern Studies (Poland), 20 Aug 2008 Summary: Russia’s invasion of Georgia is an attempt to rebuild Russia’s sphere of influence in Central Asia. The goal of the invasion was to show governments from the region Russia’s power and the weakness of the West, especially of the United States.