Russia refuses to lift Georgia ban

TVNZ.co.NZ ^ | October 4, 2006

[Tailgunner Joe]

Why are Russians so upset when their neighbors make friends with us? It is quite simply that they see it as a betrayal. Russia still sees us as an enemy just like in Soviet times. They aren't our enemy because they oppose us near their borders, they oppose us near their borders because they are our enemy.

[Tailgunner Joe]

All Russians living in NATO contries should maybe go back to Russia then where Russian government can take care of them.

[Tailgunner Joe]

Nobody in the world recognizes Abkhazia and South Ossetia as nations, not even Russia.

[Freelance Warrior]

Probably.

[Tailgunner Joe]

Haha. For some reason they'd rather stay where they are though. How come Russians still want to escape Russia just like in gulag times? If Russia is so great how come so many people flee gulag Russia for better lives in the west?

[Tailgunner Joe]

Words Once Spoken… - “World history shows that sanctions can rarely be effective,” it was not Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili who said so, though he could have said something like this today, in the heat of confrontation with Moscow. The statement belongs to Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense chief Sergey Ivanov. Words once spoken you can never recall, as everyone knows. Back in May, Mr. Ivanov lambasted the idea of solving international problems with the help of sanctions – he virtually left no stone unturned. Russia’s Defense Minister debunked sanctions as a method in relations to Iran. Of course, he did not mean Georgia. The United States pushed for the soonest punishment of Iran for its nuclear ambitions while Russia was playing its tradition role of the good cop, looking for counter-evidence to shield Teheran from Bush’s ire. No one would have thought that an unexpected turn would make the parties swap places in just a few months. Russia now introduces sanctions against Tbilisi, neglecting the “world history” it has referred to.

[Freelance Warrior]

How come Russians still want to escape Russia just like in gulag times?

1. Your information is outdated. The Russians who left Russia since 1991 maintain their relations with Russia and have quite good attitude towards it;

2. They left Russia because of economic reasons and some returned because they could be better off in Russia;