Ceasefire bid amid Georgia crisis

The BBC reports:

Russia and Georgia have accused each other of launching new attacks, as diplomats press for a ceasefire in the conflict over South Ossetia.

Georgia said dozens of Russian bombers attacked targets inside its territory, including around Tbilisi and Gori.

Russia said Georgian attacks on the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali killed three of its troops.

Georgia's president backed a draft EU ceasefire proposal for a ceasefire, but Moscow reportedly rejected the plan.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, heading a delegation to the Georgian capital, told the BBC that President Mikhail Saakashvili signed a document outlining EU proposals for a ceasefire, controlled withdrawals of troops on both sides and eventual political talks.

The delegation would now go to Moscow, Mr Kouchner said, to convince President Dmitry Medvedev to back the plan.

But reports from Moscow suggested the Kremlin had quickly rejected the draft plan, saying Georgia was continuing to use military force.

The Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, also spoke out, criticising the US for transporting Georgian troops from Iraq to redeploy to the conflict at home.

Earlier, Mr Medvedev accused Georgia of "genocide" in South Ossetia but said Russian troops were now in control of Tskhinvali and Moscow's military push was "largely complete".

The head of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, accompanying Mr Kouchner, said he could not predict when the conflict would end, saying only that he was "optimistic" a cessation of violence could begin "in the next few days".

Targets hit

Fighting over South Ossetia erupted late last week when Georgia launched an overnight assault on the territory, which has had de facto independence since the end of a war in 1992.

Russia, which supports the breakaway province, hit back, bombing targets throughout Georgia.

The latest reports of violence came despite Georgia saying on Sunday that it would observe a ceasefire. Moscow has insisted Georgian forces withdraw fully from South Ossetia before it halts operations.

From Tbilisi, Georgia said up to 50 Russian fighter jets attacked targets inside Georgia overnight, with targets including a missile base and a radar station.

Georgia said the town of Gori, close to the South Ossetian border and used as a jumping-off point for Georgia's push into South Ossetia, also came under overnight attack.

Elsewhere in Georgia, tensions were rising in Abkhazia, another separatist region.

Reports said a Russian general issued an ultimatum to Georgian forces to pull out of Abkhazia's Kodori Gorge or Russia would send in its troops. Earlier, reports in Moscow said 9,000 Russian troops were being deployed to Abkhazia.

On Sunday, separatist leaders in Abkhazia announced a full mobilisation in order to drive Georgian troops from part of the region, and gave them a deadline to leave.

Georgia has accused Russia of landing 4,000 more troops in Abkhazia via the Black Sea. The separatists said Georgia had deployed a similar number of soldiers south of the Abkhaz border.

'Very firm'

Overnight, US President George W Bush was strongly critical of Russia's military strikes against Georgia.

Speaking in Beijing, US President Bush told NBC TV that he had spoken frankly to Mr Putin when the pair met at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games last week.

"I said this violence is unacceptable," Mr Bush said, adding: "I was very firm with Vladimir Putin. Hopefully this will get resolved peacefully."

However, in a telephone call to President Saakashvili, the US Vice-President, Dick Cheney, said Russian aggression "must not go unanswered".

But White House officials refused to speculate on what America might do if the Russian military action continued.

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has called on the parties to the conflict to grant safe passage to civilians trying to escape the war zone - estimated at up to 20,000 within Georgia, with some 30,000 fleeing into the Russian province of North Ossetia.

Georgia move fails to halt raids

The BBC reports:

Russia has continued air raids deep inside Georgia, after it rejected Tbilisi's announcement that it had called a ceasefire and wanted talks.

Jets bombed targets near Tbilisi, including the airport, and Russia said its warships had sunk a Georgian boat that approached and tried to attack.

Russia earlier took control of the breakaway region of South Ossetia, forcing Georgian troops to withdraw.

The US has accused Russia of seeking "regime change" in Georgia.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili told the BBC his forces had observed a ceasefire since 0500 on Sunday morning, but had still been bombed by Russian planes. He said his government had been trying "all day" to contact Russia to discuss a ceasefire.

Peace mission

Russian jets were still carrying out bombing raids late on Sunday. Witnesses said jets had hit Tbilisi International Airport, as well as a military airfield close to the Georgian capital.

The airport was hit only a few hours before French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb arrived on a peace mission.

A Georgian official said earlier that Russian planes had bombed the western town of Zugdidi and Georgian-controlled territory inside Abkhazia. The claims could not be independently verified.

Later Russia's navy said it had sunk what it called a Georgian missile boat that had approached at high speed and tried to attack Russian warships in the Black Sea.

Meanwhile, there the US clashed with Russia at the United Nations Security Council, accusing it of seeking "regime change" in Georgia.

The US ambassador to the UN, Zalmay Khalilzad, quoted Russia's foreign minister saying Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili "must go".

He asked his Russian counterpart, Vitaly Churkin: "Is the goal of the Russian Federation to change the leadership of Georgia?"

Mr Churkin did not directly answer the question, but said there were leaders who had "become an obstacle".

The council has met for four days running, but has failed to agree on the wording of a statement calling for a ceasefire.

But the US said it was preparing a draft resolution condemning Russia. Analysts said although Russia would veto such a statement, the US wanted to build backing for the motion to demonstrate international opinion.

Clashes in South Ossetia itself were reported to be less intense on Sunday, as Russian forces took control and Georgian troops drew back.

Local residents fleeing the area on Sunday morning told the BBC that Tskhinvali was relatively quiet.

Later, however, the BBC's Richard Galpin described a sense of panic on Sunday night in the Georgian town of Gori, near South Ossetia, amid fears that Russian troops were about to march on the town.

He had been warned by the interior ministry to leave Gori, only to find that the road to Tbilisi was crammed with cars full of fleeing civilians.

'Disproportionate force'

Georgia's announcement of its ceasefire came in a statement from the foreign ministry, stating that Georgia "today stopped firing in the South Ossetian conflict zone and is ready to begin talks with Russia on a ceasefire and cessation of hostilities".

It said a note had been passed to the Russian embassy in Georgia to that effect.

But a Russian foreign ministry official was quoted by Interfax saying "our information does not confirm the Georgian statement".

"There are indications that exchanges of fire are continuing and the Georgian forces have not been fully withdrawn from the conflict zone," he said.

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) called on the parties to the conflict to grant safe passage for thousands of civilians trying to escape the war zone.

The UNHCR estimates that between 10,000 and 20,000 people have been displaced within Georgia, including South Ossetia, while Russia has said that a further 30,000 people have fled north into the Russian province of North Ossetia.

"The conflict has caused civilian casualties and more are at risk," UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said.

"It is essential that humanitarian agencies be able to reach the affected and the displaced."

Meanwhile tensions were rising in Georgia's other breakaway region, Abkhazia.

The leader of the separatist government there, Sergei Bagapsh, said he had ordered a military operation to clear Georgian forces out of Abkhazia's Kodori Gorge, and gave them a deadline to leave.

Georgia has accused Russia of landing 4,000 more troops in Abkhazia via the Black Sea. The separatists said Georgia had deployed a similar number of soldiers south of the Abkhaz border.

Georgia promises sharp response to Russian railway troops

President Mikheil Saakashvili will call his Russian counterpart today to discuss Moscow’s decision to send hundreds of military engineers to repair separatist Abkhazia’s railways.

Tbilisi alleges that the Russian deployment is preparing the ground for the full-scale annexation of the breakaway territory. Moscow says the troops are providing humanitarian aid.

Georgian officials confirmed the planned phone call to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev after the National Security Council met yesterday. Speaking to reporters following the session, Foreign Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili said the situation in Abkhazia is grave, promising a “very sharp” response from Tbilisi. “What is essentially a military intervention is being carried out on the territory of Abkhazia, Georgia,” the foreign minister said.

She said the Georgian government would demand the engineers be pulled out, along with the roughly 1 000 troops Russia deployed in April to reinforce its "peacekeeping" contingent in Abkhazia. [More]

President: Georgia Will Use "All Avaliable Means" to Oust Russian Peacekeeps from Abkhazia

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s first meeting with new Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev in early June now promises to be a fiery affair. Armed with the findings of a UN report that holds Russia responsible for shooting down a Georgian drone over the breakaway region of Abkahzia, Saakashvili has announced that Tbilisi will use "all means and all ways" to try to push Russian peacekeepers out of the conflict zone.

The two men are scheduled to parlay at a June 6-7 meeting of CIS leaders in St. Petersburg, Russia. Speaking during a televised session of Georgia’s National Security Council on May 27, Saakashvili stated that Russia could no longer be trusted to act as an impartial peace-broker in Abkhazia. Moscow, he insisted, "pretends to play at peacekeeping" in Abkhazia and such misbehavior "annuls this peacekeeping role."

"It is absolutely clear that Georgia cannot remain in such a situation when we all, together with our international partners, are sitting and waiting for [a new] provocation," he said. Saakashvili did not specify precisely how Tbilisi would try to overhaul Abkhazia’s peacekeeping format. [More]

Tbilisi seeks to replace Russian peacekeepers after Georgian plane downed

Georgia is demanding an official apology and compensation from Moscow for the downing of an unmanned spy plane over Abkhazia last month, after a UN investigation concluded Russia was to blame for the attack.

Tbilisi is using the UN investigation’s unusually unequivocal findings to push its case that Russian peacekeepers in Abkhazia must be replaced. President Mikheil Saakashvili said yesterday that Russia had undermined its role in Georgia’s separatist regions with the incident.

“It is entirely clear…especially after this latest official conclusion, that Russia on its own effectively canceled the existing [peacekeeping] format. It claims to be peacekeeping, while at the same time executing armed attacks against the state in which it claims to be doing this peacekeeping,” Saakashvili said in a televised session of the country’s National Security Council.

Saakashvili said his government would carefully consult its allies to engineer a safe revision of the peacekeeping arrangement. [More]

UN backs Georgia over drone claim

A Russian jet did shoot down an unmanned Georgian drone over the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia last month, UN monitors say. The jet flew back into Russian airspace after the attack, the UN report says.

Russia has denied the charges - even though Georgia's defence ministry released video appearing to show a Russian MiG-29 shooting down the drone.

Tensions over Abkhazia have soared, with Georgia and Russia accusing each other of a military build-up. Moscow accuses Georgia of preparing to invade its breakaway region, where many residents hold Russian passports. Georgia says Russia is preparing to annex the region. [More]

Russia Sends More Troops to Georgia

Georgia accused Russia of fanning conflict on Tuesday after Moscow sent extra peacekeeping troops to Georgia's breakaway Abkhazia region to counter what it called a military build-up by Tbilisi.

The Russian move marked a new escalation in a crisis between the two ex-Soviet neighbors that has alarmed Georgia's allies in the West, who see the ex-Soviet state as a future NATO ally and a vital transit route for energy supplies. The move angered Tbilisi, which accuses the Russian force there of siding with the separatists.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said Russia's move had created a dangerous situation. "It is altogether obvious that this is part of a fast and worrying escalation of Russian measures for controlling territories," Bildt wrote on his blog. [More]

Russia Shoots Down Georgian Drone

(My apologies for the ad Reuters has embedded on the front end of the video. Just twiddle your thumbs for a bit.

Georgia Accuses Russia over Abkhazia

Georgia has objected to a letter sent by the Russian Justice Ministry to Georgian and Abkhazian officials outlining plans to cooperate with the unrecognized republic of Abkhazian authorities in extraditing Russian citizens. Tbilisi accused Russia of attempting to “legitimize separatism” in a note of protest presented to Russian Ambassador to Georgia Vyacheslav Kovalenko. Georgian Justice Minister Nika Gvaramia was the first to voice the country's objections, speaking at a special briefing that was broadcast live on all Georgian television channels. He claimed that Russia “rudely violated Georgia's sovereignty.”

The scandalous letter was sent to the Georgian Justice Ministry on February 5. Georgian officials did not explain why they objected to it only yesterday. A Russian Foreign Ministry official commented that Georgia “has objected to something that was previously taken to be obligatory.” [More]

UN chief recommends extension of UN mission in Georgia

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recommended on Monday to extend the mandate of the UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) for six months.

In his report on the situation in Abkhazia, Georgia, unveiled on Monday, Ban noted that despite relative calm in recent months, the deadly clash that occurred on Sept. 20 is "the most serious incident involving the Georgian and Abkhaz sides in many years." [More]

Georgia and Russia Clash at UN

Georgia's president told world leaders Wednesday that Russia continues to interfere in its domestic politics and engage in "reckless and dangerous" behavior, the latest in a series of conflicts between the two countries.

In his speech to the UN General Assembly, President Mikhail Saakashvili accused Russia of trying to skew reports of an incident last week in the breakaway region of Abkhazia in which Georgian forces killed two Russian military officials.

Saakashvili, who has vowed to bring the region back under Georgian control and accuses Russians of backing the separatists, said claims by a senior Russian official that the men killed were innocent were "unconstructive, unsubstantiated and wholly untrue." [More]

Georgia Responds to Abkhazia's Threat

Tensions have drastically escalated in the breakaway republic of Abkhazia since last Thursday. A group of Abkhazian saboteurs penetrated the Georgian controlled territory near the Upper Kodori Gorge (Upper Abkhazia) and attacked workers who were building a road connecting the gorge with Svaneti. The terrorist group opened fire on the forces of the Georgian Interior Ministry who were guarding the road construction. Georgian security responded to the attackers with fire-- killing two Abkhazian intruders, wounding four, and capturing six.

"An illegally armed unit, controlled by Abkhazian authorities, entered the territory controlled by Georgia-- which in fact controls the road which connects the upper Abkhazian Kodori Gorge with the rest of Georgia. The clear objective of that unit was to take control of that part of road and to attack," said David Bakradze, Georgian Minister on Conflict Resolution Issues. [More]

'Last warning' by Bagapsh not taken seriously in Tbilisi

Sergey Bagapsh, the de facto President of Abkhazia, requested the government of Georgia release its 'hostages' and threatened to start military actions in Upper Abkhazia (the only part of the breakaway republic remaining under Georgian control) if they were not released.

Kote Gabashvili, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, said that at one of his press conferences in Moscow, Seregay Bagapsh had openly advocated a terrorist course of action with regards to Abkhazia's relations with Georgia, proving that any comment on Bagapsh' ultimatum is mindless. [More]

Tbilisi Denies Militant Suspects Infiltrated Russia from Georgia

Georgia said Russia’s allegation that two militant suspects killed in Karachay-Cherkessia infiltrated from Georgia was a provocation.

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said in a statement on September 5 that two militants have been killed in a clash within Russia’s north Caucasus republic of Karachay-Cherkessia, who have infiltrated into the republic from “a neighboring country.”

Karachay-Cherkessia borders with Georgia, in particular with breakaway Abkhazia, mainly with Tbilisi-controlled upper Kodori Gorge. Only a small section of Karachay-Cherkessia’s border lies with the Georgia’s high-mountainous region of Svaneti.

OSCE tries to unravel Russia-Georgia missile muddle

“A dangerous situation”, that's the way Miomir Zuzul, from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, described allegations by Georgia that Russia fired a missile at it last month.

The Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office was looking into Tbilisi's claim that on August 6, a Russian SU-24 jet fired a missile onto its territory near the village of Tsitelubani, close to the border with Georgia’s breakaway Republic of Abkhazia. [More]

Russian peacekeepers released in Georgia

Eight Russian peacekeepers released by Georgian military police have now returned to their base. On Tuesday, they were arrested after their truck collided with a passenger bus near the Abkhazian border. [More]

Russia-Georgia dispute escalates

Just as relations between Russia and the post-Soviet nation of Georgia were improving from their nadir last year, a bizarre phantom air war this month has unleashed mutually hostile rhetoric and escalated tensions.

For almost a month, Georgia has complained that Russian fighter jets have made incursions into its airspace. Most recently, it said that its forces fired on an intruding Russian plane near the breakaway republic of Abkhazia last week. The republic, a Russian protectorate claimed by Georgia under international law, is a point of contention between the two countries.

But a top Russian general scoffed that his Georgian colleagues must be "hallucinating" since, he insisted, no Russian warplanes have flown anywhere near Georgia. Kremlin officials have repeatedly suggested that Georgian hard-liners, seeking a pretext for military action against Abkhazia and another rebel statelet, South Ossetia, may be "fabricating" the incidents. [More]

Georgia up in arms over Olympic cash

A bitter diplomatic row has broken out over Russia's plans to harness the economic potential of a breakaway republic in neighbouring Georgia to prepare for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

There were wild celebrations in Moscow last month when Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi was chosen to host the games despite having practically no infrastructure in place. [More]

S.Ossetia turns down peace talks in Tbilisi

South Ossetia's delegation will not participate in an August 9-10 session of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) on the settlement of the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict, the unrecognized republic's president said.

"We are in favor of continuing the JCC's work, but outside Georgia. Moscow, Vladikavkaz, Tskhinvali, or any other city, but not Tbilisi," Eduard Kokoity was quoted by the republic's information and press committee as saying. [More]

Tbilisi urges Abkhazia to drop bellicose rhetoric

Tbilisi and Sukhumi again traded accusations over the situation in the Kodori Gorge. Georgian Minister for Separatist Conflicts David Bakradze (pictured) on Friday urged the Abkhazian authorities to refrain from threats against the official Tbilisi.

They should think well before making threatening statements.... From the military point of view these threats are not serious, and from the political one -- an attempt to aggravate the situation and prevent the process of a peaceful settlement of the conflict.

Bakradze expressed the hope that the international community, including the United Nations, would give an evaluation to such statements by the authorities of the self-proclaimed republic.

The latest wave of mutual accusations was set off by the opening of the NATO information center in Georgia, in the upper part of the Kodori Gorge on July 26. [More]