OSCE report points finger at Georgia for S. Ossetia crisis
17:07 | 30/ 08/ 2008
BERLIN, August 30 (RIA Novosti) – The Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe has accumulated evidence pointing to "numerous
wrong decisions" made by Georgian leaders that led to a military crisis
with Russia, Der Spiegel said on Saturday.
In a report to be published in its Monday edition, OSCE military
observers in the Caucasus described detailed planning by Georgia to
move into South Ossetia which contributed to the crisis, the German
magazine said.
The report also backed up Russian claims that the Georgian offensive
was already in full swing by the time Russian troops and armored
vehicles entered the Roksky Tunnel, on the border with Russia and South
Ossetia, to protect its peacekeepers and the civilian population.
The OSCE report also contains suspected war crimes committed by
Georgians, who ordered attacks on sleeping South Ossetian civilians.
Georgia attacked South Ossetia on August 8 in an attempt to regain
control over the separatist republic, which split from Tbilisi in the
early 1990s.
Most people living in South Ossetia have Russian citizenship and Moscow
subsequently launched an operation to "force Georgia to accept peace."
The operation was concluded on August 12.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed decrees Tuesday recognizing
South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states and called on other
countries to follow suit.
Russia has accused Georgia of committing "genocide" by launching the
offensive in South Ossetia. Russia is calling for an international war
crimes trial for the Georgian leadership, which Moscow says is
responsible for massive loss of life in South Ossetia.