"YOU’VE GOT TO GO", THE WORLD SAYS, YET AGAIN
By David Matsaberidze

The Messenger
Aug 25 2008
Georgia

The international community remains actively concerned by developments
in Georgia. Several high ranking US and EU officials have visited
the country, expressing their hope that Russia withdraws from the
country. They have stated that the situation as of August 6 should be
immediately restored, and the internationalization of the peacekeeping
process has been set as the priory short term target.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband expressed his concern over
what he said was Russia’s failure to completely live up to its pledges
on pulling back troops from Georgia. Miliband said that reports of a
Russian military pullback looked like "a step forward". But he added:
"I remain deeply concerned that Russian forces have not withdrawn to
the… position as agreed. It is imperative that Russian forces fully
and speedily implement and abide by the commitments that it (Russia)
has made."

The German Government said on August 23 that Russia had yet to
fully comply with the commitments it had undertaken in the six-point
ceasefire accord. "The [German] government expects Russia to complete
the withdrawal immediately in accordance with the six-point plan signed
by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, and pull back its troops to the
lines [held] before the outbreak of hostilities, as was agreed," German
government spokesman Thomas Steg stated. In a separate statement,
Steg also said that Chancellor Merkel had proposed that the EU hold
"a neighbourhood conference" for Georgia. The German weekly magazine
Der Spiegel said Merkel’s idea would see the neighbouring countries of
Armenia and Azerbaijan participate in the conference, but not Russia,
Reuters reported.

Richard Lugar, a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
is paying an official visit to Georgia. The Senator held meetings
with Georgian senior ministers and Members of Parliament from both
the opposition and ruling parties. Lugar has already held a meeting
with Georgian State Minister for Reintegration Temur Iakobashvili.

The Senator discussed the Georgia crisis and ways to resolve
the conflict with Russia with Georgian Prime Minister Lado
Gurgenidze. After official negotiations, Richard Lugar met IDPs who
fled from their homes in the Shida Kartli and Tskhinvali regions
during the Russian military aggression.

Spokesmen for the White House also said on August 23 that Russia had
yet to fully comply. "Putting up permanent facilities and checkpoints
are inconsistent with the agreement," White House spokesman Gordon
Johndroe said. "We are in contact with the various parties to obtain
clarification." Finnish Foreign Minister and OSCE Chairman-in-Office,
Alexander Stubb, also declared the French-brokered ceasefire to be
under serious threat. After the meetings with Georgian Foreign Minister
Eka Tkeshelashvili and the State Minister for Reintegration Temur
Iakobashvili, Stubb stated that "the world should use all available
resources to ensure the fulfillment of the ceasefire agreement and the
pullout of Russian forces from Georgia". Mr. Stubb said 20 military
monitors would arrive in Georgia to observe the process of the
withdrawal and report the OSCE about the implementation of the truce.

In the light of this French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged his Russian
counterpart Dimitry Medvedev to remove Russian troops from the west of
Georgia, in particular from Poti and Senaki. Sarkozy said that OSCE
international peacekeepers will be placed in the region, as agreed
with his Russian counterpart. Russia however has released a response
arguing that Sarkozy has misinterpreted the Russian position, as Russia
has only expressed its readiness to cooperate with the OSCE and allow
international monitors to operate in the so-called "buffer zones".

All of these statements prompted Georgian and Western ministers to
blame Russia for violating the French-brokered pullout agreement. The
foreign media is still actively talking about a Georgian-Russian
conflict. There are already analytical articles about the current
situation. Some Russian press releases express the opinion
that in the long-term perspective Russia is the loser in this
confrontation. Analysts admit that if not in Tskhinvali, war would
have broken out in Kodori anyway. Today there is unified opinion in
the West that Russia has to comply with the obligations it took on when
it signed the ceasefire agreement, a unity created by this conflict.

Two US Democratic Congressmen have now arrived in Tbilisi and held
negotiations with the President of Georgia. The U.S. Congress has
stated that it is ready to help restore the civil infrastructure in
Georgia. Howard Berner and George Miller visited Parliament as well,
where they met with Chairman of Parliament David Bakradze. They once
again confirmed the US’s strong support for Georgia’s territorial
integrity. Congressmen have underlined once again that the primary
and most important step in conflict resolution is the withdrawal of
the Russian army from Georgian territory.

Ukraine has become more active and sensitive towards developments
in Georgia. President Yushchenko recently agreed an increase in the
state’s defence budget, at the same time confirming the possibility
that Ukraine could play a decisive role in peacekeeping operations
in Georgia’s conflict regions, as Georgian Parliament Speaker Davit
Bakradze announced at the briefing held after the meeting with his
Ukrainian counterpart, Konstantin Eliseev. Eliseev reiterated Ukraine’s
support of the Georgian Government and announced that Ukraine was
prepared to provide humanitarian aid to Georgia. Ukraine has already
sent 24 tonnes of firefighting equipment and ammunition to Georgia.

On August 21, the UN Security Council failed to make a decision on
a Russia-submitted resolution on Georgia. Russian Ambassador Vitaly
Churkin vetoed the draft resolution proposed by the West and tried to
convince member states to approve a Russian draft. Churkin stated that
the main objection of some Security Council members was the absence
of Georgia’s "territorial integrity" in the draft resolution. He
explained that the document copied the six principles of the peace
plan for Georgia agreed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and
his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy, whereas US Ambassador to the
United Nations Alejandro Wolfe called for the resolution to include
"territorial integrity" as one of its provisions as all previous
documents on Georgia had done.