Posted on 06/11/2004 10:53:38 AM PDT by RussianConservative
TBILISI - Georgia told Russia on Wednesday to stay out of its affairs in a sharpening dispute over its breakaway South Ossetia region, where Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili is trying to re-assert central control. The foreign ministry of the ex-Soviet republic defended its action in sending troops on Monday to the internal border with the region to protect anti-smuggling checkpoints that Georgia said Russian peacekeepers were trying to remove.
That action drew a sharp rebuke from Moscow which complained of "provocative acts" by the Tbilisi government and a danger of "violence and bloodshed". In a statement, Georgia's foreign ministry said: "This affair concerns Georgia's territory and Georgia is a sovereign state and has the right to take action to uphold the law on its own territory, just like Russia and other states."
The turbulent, multi-ethnic region of which Georgia is a part is a transit route for oil from the Caspian basin, making it strategically important for both Moscow and Washington. Saakashvili recently brought Georgia's renegade Adzhara region back into the fold by forcing out the local leader, and has made clear he has now set his sights on regaining control over South Ossetia and another breakaway region, Abkhazia.
But both have rejected the advances of the U.S.-educated leader who won a landslide election this year after a bloodless revolution. A four-way commission set up after South Ossetia's 1991-2 separatist war met in the region on Wednesday in an attempt to defuse the war of words.
As well as envoys from Georgia, Russia and South Ossetia, the commission includes representatives from North Ossetia – a neighbouring Russian region the separatists want to unite with. Most of South Ossetia's 70,000 inhabitants are not ethnically Georgian, and many make a living from smuggling goods between Russia and Georgia.
After sending troops to defend the checkpoints, the Tbilisi government then pulled them back – but not before it had ignited a war of words with big neighbour Russia. Russia said the troops were trained by U.S. special forces for anti-terrorism, and objected to their use in South Ossetia.
Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania said no one had the right to dictate to Georgia where and how to deploy its forces. "We will act in the interests of our compatriots, including using trained units for the armed forces. It's our business which units we send as part of the peacekeeping contingent in South Ossetia," he said on Wednesday.
Officials at the four-way talks being held in Tskhinvali, South Ossetia's main town, tried to lower the temperature
"This affair concerns Georgia's territory and Georgia is a sovereign state and has the right to take action to uphold the law on its own territory, just like Russia and other states."
Except that in both Abhazia and S.Ossessia, over 80% of peoples hold Russian passports and citizenships...which would mean Bilisi now kill Russian citizens.
In Adjaria Georgians never attempt whole sale extermination as in Abhazia and S.Ossessia, taking over, after massive military defeat in 1992, 1993, 2000 (in Abhazia...Georgia hire Galiyov -dead now- and 700 Chechins to invade first) locals of region don't want anything of Georgia but to get out.
Georgia should just let the region go back into russia where they want. If there are strategic minerals or oil deposits there, just neogtiate a cut for peaceful separation and be done with it.
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