Posted on 09/11/2008 6:52:35 AM PDT by Schnucki
Russia today slapped down its would-be satellite state of South Ossetia after the leader of the breakaway Georgian province claimed it would become part of the Russian Federation.
No sooner had Eduard Kokoity, president of the tiny enclave, alarmed Western powers by announcing it sought to join Russia, than the Kremlin issued a strenous denial and forced him to reverse his statement.
South Ossetia was recognised only a few days ago as an independent state by the Kremlin following last month’s bitter war. But Mr Kokoity said this morning that independence was no longer his goal. Instead he told a group of western journalists and academics that his aim was reunification with his countrymen across the border in North Ossetia, becoming part of Russia.
”We will be part of the Russian Federation,” he said. “It [South Ossetia] is not going to be an independent country.”
The move, if it ever went ahead, would effectively mean Russia would be annexing part of another country’s territory by force. It would be likely to provoke an angry response from Georgia, its ally America and other nations concerned about the redrawing of the map of the Caucasus.
But the Kremlin moved quickly to dismiss Mr Kokoity’s claims. Sergey Lavrov, the Russia foreign minister, told reporters in Warsaw that South Ossetia wanted to stay an independent state.
“South Ossetia is not intending to link up with anybody,” he said. “They have understood that without a declaration of independence, they cannot ensure their own security.”
Mr Kokoity later backtracked on his earlier statements in an interview with the Russian news agency Interfax.
“I have probably been misunderstood,” he was quoted as saying. “We are not going to relinquish our independence, which we won at the cost of colossal sacrifices, and South Ossetia is not going to
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
Doesn't sound like a Kremlin slap-down to me. Maybe Lavrov hadn't heard Mr Kokoity’s comments yet. But regardless, the Kremlin did not say that they don't intend to annex South Ossetia.
What they want is the issue and the ability to keep Georgia off balance and in limbo. They want to cause grief and self destruction and if they cannot achieve that, they will invade, just as they did.
Nothing new......Same ole.....same ole.....and they get away with it.
South Ossetia does not want to become part of Russia, the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, said today, following a series of contradictory statements from Eduard Kokoity, the South Ossetian leader.
Kokoity was initially quoted by news agencies as telling a group of foreign policy experts that Georgia’s breakaway province would join Russia. He later retracted the comments in an interview with the Russian news agency Interfax.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/11/georgia.russia?gusrc=rss&feed=worldnews
Not to mention the fact that smuggling was probably the most common employment in South Ossetia.
"We're going broke as it is. We can hardly afford to take you on."
I especially liked one of the comments under the article that talked about how good it would be for Ossetians to get Russian pensions. This while Russia is considering dipping into their pension reserves to prop up financial markets.
My guess is this slap down took that smug, skanky grin off Kokoity's puss. And while I think there's no way Russia wants the skanks of South Ossetia as a permanent burden, I don't believe this abrupt kiss off is ONLY because of that.
I'm hoping this indicates at least a minimal level of rationality and maybe even sanity at the sudden stark fear of actually provoking conflict with "other" countries.
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