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posted at 8:05 am on August 12, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
A number of reports have the Russians halting their military advance in Georgia, supposedly to negotiate a peaceful end to the conflict in the Caucasus. However, the Russians have something very different in mind. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov refused to negotiate with Georgia’s elected government, saying publicly that Mikheil Saakashvili “has to go”, while President Dmitri Medvedev ordered his troops to “crush” any remaining Georgian resistance.
If that sounds like peace, it’s the peace of the graveyard:
Medvedev ordered the military to quell any signs of Georgian resistance.
“If there are any emerging hotbeds of resistance or any aggressive actions, you should take steps to destroy them,” he told his defense minister at a Kremlin meeting.
Russia’s foreign minister, meanwhile, said that Georgia’s president must leave office and Georgian troops should stay out of the pro-Russian South Ossetia region for good.
thanks Ernest