Tbilisi started it – Schroeder

Gulf Times
Published: Sunday, 17 August, 2008,

Schroeder … West has made major mistakes

BERLIN: Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder blamed Tbilisi
yesterday for sparking hostilities with Moscow and suggested its
breakaway regions could not remain part of Georgia following the
violent clashes of the past week.
In an interview with German weekly Der Spiegel, Schroeder also
criticised the West for failures in its dealings with Russia and urged
Europe to strengthen its ties with Moscow.
Schroeder developed a close relationship with then-Russian president
Vladimir Putin during his seven years as chancellor and he now chairs a
German-Russian consortium that is building a major gas pipeline under
the Baltic Sea.
`I don’t believe Russia is pursuing a policy of annexation and I also
don’t believe that there will be a return to the previous status quo
for South Ossetia and Abkhazia,’ Schroeder said, referring to the
separatist Georgian regions. `That is out of the question.’
Both regions are internationally recognised as part of Georgia, but
they are loyal to Moscow and their leaders have long sought
independence from Tbilisi.
Schroeder’s stance appears at odds with that of German Chancellor
Angela Merkel and the US, who have both said the regions must remain
part of Georgia.
Berlin, Washington, London and a host of former Soviet satellites in20
central Europe have condemned Russia’s military response in the
conflict as disproportionate.
`The starting point of the military confrontation was Georgia’s march
into South Ossetia. We shouldn’t confuse things,’ Schroeder said, when
asked who was responsible for the outbreak of violence between Russian
and Georgian troops.
He doubted the US, a strong ally of Georgia, was not informed about the
initial Georgian offensive given that it has military advisers
stationed in Tbilisi.
`In my view, we have seen major mistakes by the West in its policy
towards Russia,’ Schroeder said.
He urged the European Union to press ahead with plans to forge a
`strategic partnership’ pact with Moscow, saying Europe risked losing
influence and pushing Russia towards China if it did not work with the
Kremlin. ` Reuters