Posted on 08/11/2008 9:43:19 AM PDT by lizol
US calls on Russia to end 'campaign of terror' in South Ossetia
Compiled by Daily Star staff
Monday, August 11, 2008
The United States, Georgia's strongest ally and military trainer, on Sunday warned Russia to end aggression in the Caucasus or face a diplomatic head-to-head with Washington. The unspecified threat came as UN observers in Georgia confirmed that a military airport near Tbilisi was bombed and another former Soviet satellite state in Poland, a major US ally which is already a NATO partner, called for an EU stabilisation force to be sent in.
"We have made it clear to the Russians that if the disproportionate and dangerous escalation on the Russian side continues, that this will have a significant long-term impact on US-Russian relations," Jim Jeffrey, deputy National Security Advisor, said in Beijing.
Jeffrey said Georgian troop withdrawal would provide a "test" of Russia's intentions.
Meanwhile, the US ambassador to the UN said Sunday that he would shortly introduce a draft resolution in the Security Council calling for an immediate cease-fire between Georgia and Russia in the widening Caucasus conflict.
Zalmay Khalilzad said he was consulting with his council colleagues and added: "We expect that a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire will be introduced shortly."
He urged the 15-member council "to take urgent action calling for an immediate cease-fire and withdrawal of all forces to the status quo" that prevailed before the fighting in South Ossetia began earlier this week.
Khalilzad particularly stressed the need for Moscow to withdraw the combat forces it sent to South Ossetia in the past week.
He also accused Russia of "actually impeding the withdrawal of Georgian forces from South Ossetia." "This is an unconscionable effort to continue the conflict and prevent the Georgians from taking concrete steps to de-escalate the situation," the US envoy said.
"We condemn the Russian attack on the sovereign of Georgia" and Russia's "targeting of civilians and campaign of terror as well as its destruction of in Georgia's infrastructure," Khalilzad added.
Russia's UN ambassador branded "completely unacceptable" US claims that the Russian military in Georgia has waged a campaign of "terror."
"This is completely unacceptable, especially from the lips of a representative of a country whose action we are aware of in Iraq, Afghanistan and Serbia," Moscow's UN envoy Vitaly Churkin said.
Tbilisi subsequently ordered a unilateral cease-fire, seeking immediate talks with Russia. The US has long championed Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's bid for NATO membership, a major irritant for Moscow.
The US military also has personnel in Georgia under a program linked to deployments in Iraq, from where Tbilisi is withdrawing its 2,000-strong force.
With Russian military might far outweighing Georgia's resources, Saakashvili called on NATO and the United Nations to intervene, in an interview with a German newspaper.
"Above all I think they have one moral duty: to speak with a united voice and stop Russian aggression," he was quoted as saying by Rhein Zeitung. "Our citizens are dying and the last thing we want is to continue this game."
In a televised address on Sunday, Saakashvili said Georgia's very existence is threat-ened by the widening conflict with Russia. "The existence of the Georgian state is under threat," Saakashvili said in a nationally televised address. "All of these bombings are aimed at provoking panic ... Georgia wants peace and nothing else."
Talking to CNN, Saakashvili said his country's troops had pulled out of South Ossetia and called for US diplomatic action for the sake of "world order."
"We had our troops in and relocated them out of the zone where they were stationed before, after they've completed the task of cleaning - basically, they're out. They're out. I can confirm," he told CNN.
"Basically, I think this is not about Georgia anymore. This is about basic values of humanity, of American values that we always ourselves believed in. This is all about future of the world order," Saakashvili added. "I think the US is the most powerful country in the world. I think the US has lots of leverage, and I think there are lots of diplomatic means that this could be done through."
Regarding the president and US ally, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday that the president of Georgia "must go," the US ambassador to the United Nations told the Security Council.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, meanwhile, said there was real hope of a quick end to the conflict, his office said.
"Following the withdrawal of Georgian troops from South Ossetia, the president of the republic believes there is a real perspective of rapidly finding a way out of the crisis," the presidency said in a statement.
NATO's secretary general also repeated his call for an immediate cease-fire, a spokeswoman for the group said. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer "also expressed his concerns about the disproportionate use of force and lack of respect for the territorial integrity of Georgia," she added.
Poland's call for EU troop intervention came as the bloc's foreign ministers prepare for crisis talks in Brussels Wednesday.
"The European Union is prepared to play a role in stabilizing this region on condition that the parties involved in the conflict cool down their emotions and end this escalating conflict," said Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski.
It was no longer possible for Russian soldiers alone to assure the peace in South Ossetia, Sikorski added. - AFP, Reuters
Gotta love Khalilzad.
It seems to me Poland has been the only country calling for some type of European military intervention. But how seriously will it be taken?
Russia would probably love that. It would give them reason to go into Poland. It may be advisable for us to take action so this doesn’t go regional.
If the neo-Soviet Union decided to attack Poland, I don’t think the Poles will show the same restraint they showed back in the 1980s during their struggle for Solidarity.
We must help Georgia. This is an American supporter. We have to take off the gloves.
I take my hat off to the Poles, they have brass ones.
I agree.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.