Georgia/Russia news: 15 SEP 2008
NOTE: This is an informational compilation. GMF does not endorse, either explicitly or implicitly, the content contained herein.
NEWS
In Wake of Georgian War, Russian Media Feel Heat
Washington Post (U.S.), Philip P. Pan, 15 Sep 2008
Summary: “The message to the 30 or so media executives at the gathering was clear: With Russia occupying parts of Georgia and locked in perhaps its most serious conflict with the West since the Cold War, they should be especially vigilant against reporting anything that the government might find objectionable.”
Record $47.9Bln Planned for Defense
The Moscow Times (RUS), 15 Sep 2008
Summary: Spending on arms will rise to a record $47.9 billion next year, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said Friday, as the Kremlin moves to beef up the armed forces after a conflict in Georgia.
Georgia war sparks political battle in Ukraine
Los Angeles Times (U.S.), Megan K. Stack, 15 Sep 2008
Summary: “The war in Georgia is over. But the war over the war in Georgia rages unabated in Ukraine, the former Soviet state that, like Georgia, has drawn the wrath of Moscow by building ties with the West. The collapse of this country’s ruling coalition is widely expected to become official this week, the final gasp of a threadbare alliance that has barely hung together in recent months. The delicate balance was upended by a widening dispute over how to respond to a newly aggressive Russia.”
Putin fails to dispel doubts over Medvedev
Financial Times (UK), Stefan Wagstyl, 14 Sep 2008
Summary: “The key question for many Valdai guests was who really runs Russia. Mr Medvedev emphasised that, as commander-in-chief, he had called the shots in the Georgian crisis and Mr Putin said the same, commenting that “the buck stops with him”. However, the visitors were left with the same impression as most Russians, that Mr Putin takes the big decisions. In a telling remark, Mr Putin referred to Mr Medvedev as “a good guy”, using a Russian phrase that sounded more like a condescending term of endearment rather than a fitting label for the country’s president. In contrast, Mr Medvedev hardly mentioned Mr Putin, perhaps to avoid detracting from himself.”
Medvedev Guests Take Tough Message Home
The Moscow Time (RUS), Nabi Abdullaev, 15 Sep 2008
Summary: President Dmitry Medvedev said Friday in a meeting with a group of Western political and academic specialists on Russia that last month’s military conflict between Russia and Georgia demonstrated the current absence of a just international order.
Russian Troops Take Down Some Georgia Checkpoints
New York Times (U.S.), Dan Bilefsky, 13 Sep 2008
Summary: “Hundreds of Russian troops retreated from checkpoints across western Georgia on Saturday ahead of a deadline for their withdrawal brokered by the European Union…The partial pullout on Saturday was cautiously welcomed by the Georgian government, but was overshadowed here by news that a Georgian policeman was shot dead from the direction of a Russian position at a post in Ganmukhuri, a village near the separatist enclave of Abkhazia.”
RIA Novosti (RUS), 15 Sep 2008
Summary: NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer will arrive in Georgia on Monday, after making strong statements in support of Georgia that have been met with criticism from Russia.
NATO Envoys Will Offer Their Support in Georgia
New York Times (U.S.), Judy Dempsey, 14 Sep 2008
Summary: “Defying strong opposition from Russia, NATO’s 26 ambassadors will begin a two-day visit to Georgia on Monday in a move by the American-led military alliance aimed at showing support for the Georgian government, despite the risk of increasing tensions with the Kremlin…President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia warned last week that Georgia’s and Ukraine’s membership would be a destabilizing factor for the Western alliance and in the volatile Caucasus.”
COMMENTARY
Three Hours with Vladimir Putin
The Russia Profile (RUS), Andrei Zolotov Jr., 12 Sep 2008
Summary: Speaking Thursday to the visiting group of Western experts and journalists, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin vigorously defended Russia’s policy over the conflict in the Caucasus, and blamed the United States for pushing Georgia into a war. Yet the tone of his remarks signaled Russia’s willingness to continue engagement with the West, and not a turn to an overall confrontation heralded by numerous observers in the past weeks.
Blätter für deutsche und internationale Politik (Germany), Uwe Halbach, Issue 09/2008
Summary: In this commentary Uwe Halbach notes that although the current conflict in the Caucasus was the sixth war in the region since 1991, it has sent out shock waves like no other before, as Russia – for the first time – engaged in a military conflict with an independent neighboring country. He goes on to ask about the reasons for the war, and to discuss the implications for Georgia, Russia and the West.
Valdai Club Launches a Diplomatic Marathon
The RIA Novosti (RUS), 12 Sep 2008
Summary: We are currently witnessing the opening moves in a large-scale political game, that will probably last for months, aimed at building a new system of relations between Russia, the U.S. and EU. This is the conclusion to be drawn from the recent meetings of the Valdai Discussion Club in Rostov-on-Don, Sochi and Moscow.