Loathing mounts as Russia reveals iron fist

The Financial Times reports:

The people of Tirdzsuzi, a settlement on a picturesque rural road, remember how things used to be with their neighbours in the town of Tskhinvali, 20km away.

Despite the fact that Tirdzsuzi is made up of ethnic Georgians, while Tskhinvali is composed largely of ethnic Ossetians, “this never used to bother anyone”, says Mabuku Sakulachvili, an elderly farmer. “We used to trade with them, we used to marry each other. There were never any problems.”

As he speaks an explosion a few kilometres away is a reminder that the town is just 6km from the front line. Russian troops were advancing through the South Ossetian breakaway region towards the settlement on Sunday, after capturing Tskhinvali from Georgian troops after days of fighting.

“Its those tanks,” says Mr Sakulachvili, waving his hand to indicate five Georgian T-72 tanks hidden – badly – in foliage. “The Russian jets must have found them.”

All along this road the occasional antennae sticking out of a tree is the only sign of the Georgian army deployed along the likely route of a Russian advance. With camouflage as their only defence, they are constant prey for Russian fighter aircraft darting through the skies, bombing almost with impunity.

Georgia’s air force lies in ruins, largely destroyed on runways within the first hours of the war.

Mr Sakulachvili’s son, Irakli, is in one of the units camped out on the road, a gangly youth wearing US-issue desert camouflage that he got during a seven-month stint with coalition troops in Iraq. He announces he cannot talk to reporters, and his comrades do the same.

The tiny Georgian army that all weekend has faced a far superior force of Russians has surprised its foes with its tenacity and skill. But its tiny core of a thousand or so fierce and professional fighters, trained by US and Israeli advisers, has been all but overwhelmed by the air power the Russians have brought to bear.

There is little to back up this professional force, which withdrew from their positions on Sunday in what was described by the government as a “tactical relocation”. The bulk of the forces on Sunday that lay along the road from Tskhinvali were conscripts and national guardsmen with a week of military training. Some were without uniforms and there was a desperate lack of vehicles: city buses and civilian cars were pressed into ­service.

In the regional centre of Gori, south of Tirdzsuzi and 30km from Tskhinvali, the situation is dire. Most residents left the city after Russian jets bombed the town on Saturday morning, hitting an army base but also three apartment buildings nearby. The bombs blasted through the buildings, hurling flaming bodies into the streets, residents say.

Two hospitals in the town are full of injured from the front, and sobbing mothers and wives wait for news of their loved ones. Reservists who a few days ago were bank tellers or janitors mill around gloomily, waiting for orders.

A unit of Georgian commandos, wearing bandanas and driving sleek four-wheel drives, show footage captured on a mobile phone of the wreckage of a Russian Tu-22 fighter bomber. The pilot of the aircraft, who survived, was shown on television soon afterwards.

Georgians are still in a state of shock and unsure why the conflict started. Most refuse to blame their president, Mikheil Saakashvili, for launching an offensive against the South Ossetian enclave on Thursday night, seemingly miscalculating that the Russian army would not intervene – or, if it did, that international pressure would force a quick ceasefire.

“He didn’t have a choice. He had to act as he did,” says Nina Rusadze, a press officer for the Georgian military.

Most back the Georgian government, saying their living standards have improved under Mr Saakashvili and that he deserves some credit for “making Georgia a normal country”.

The issue of Ossetian sovereignty is far from the thoughts of most Georgians, who do not seem to share the government’s preoccupation with it.

Mr Sakulachvili scratches his head and remembers fondly friendships with his Ossetian neighbours in Tskhinvali, but says things started to change after the fall of the Soviet Union and the brief civil war that the enclave fought to gain de facto independence from Georgia in 1991-92.

But even after that there was no hostility with his friends in Tskhinvali, he says. “The Ossetians have nothing to do with this,” he believes. “Its just the ­Russians.”

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.

Russian jets attack Georgian town

From the BBC:

Russian jets have bombed a Georgian town amid a deepening crisis over the breakaway South Ossetia region.

Georgia says 60 people died in Gori when the bombs hit residential buildings as well as military targets.

Russian officials say hundreds of civilians have been killed in South Ossetia. Georgia denies the figure, which cannot be independently verified.

The Georgian parliament has meanwhile approved a presidential decree declaring a state of war for 15 days.

Reports differ over who controls South Ossetia's capital, with Moscow saying it has "liberated" Tskhinvali.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said his country was seeking "to force the Georgian side to peace".

Russia's ambassador to Nato, Dmitry Rogozin, said there could be no "consultations" with Georgia until Georgian forces returned to their positions and re-established "the status quo", Reuters news agency reported.

In another development, separatists in Abkhazia - Georgia's other breakaway region - said they had launched air and artillery strikes on Georgian forces in the Kodori Gorge.

The crisis began spiralling when Georgian forces launched a surprise attack on Thursday night to regain control of South Ossetia, which has had de facto independence since the end of a civil war in 1992.

The move followed days of exchanges of heavy fire with the Russian-backed separatists.

In response to the Georgian crackdown, Moscow sent armoured units across the border into South Ossetia.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has denounced Russian reports of a high civilian death toll from his forces as an "egregious lie".

Mr Saakashvili said he had decided to declare that Georgia was in a state of war because it was "under a state of total [Russian] military aggression".

Georgia is withdrawing its entire contingent of 2,000 troops from Iraq to help deal with the crisis.

US President George W Bush said the Russian attacks outside South Ossetia marked a "dangerous escalation in the crisis" and said Georgia's territorial integrity had to be respected.

"The attacks are occurring in regions of Georgia far from the zone of conflict in South Ossetia," he said while attending the Olympics.

"The violence is endangering regional peace."

Tskhinvali 'destroyed'

Fighting continued around Tskhinvali overnight and into Saturday morning, although not at the same intensity as on Friday, Russian media reported.

Later, the Russian Army's Ground Forces commander, Gen Vladimir Boldyrev, said his troops had "fully liberated" the city and were pushing Georgian forces back.

But the secretary of the Georgian National Security Council, Khakha Lomaia, insisted that the city remained "under the complete control of our troops".

Russian commanders, who said reinforcements were being sent to the region, confirmed that two Russian jets had been shot down over Georgia.

Speaking to Russian news agency Interfax, Russia's ambassador to Georgia, Vyacheslav Kovalenko, said on Saturday that 2,000 civilians and 13 Russian peacekeepers had been killed in Tskhinvali.

"The city of Tskhinvali no longer exists," he said. "It is gone. The Georgian military has destroyed it."

The International Red Cross (ICRC) said it had received reports that hospitals in the city were "overflowing" with casualties.

In Gori, Russian aircraft bombed mostly military targets, where Georgian troops had been massing to support their forces engaged in South Ossetia.

The BBC's Richard Galpin in Gori heard loud explosions and saw large plumes of smoke rising into the sky; soldiers and civilians were seen running through the streets.

Injured civilians were being pulled from the buildings, which were on fire.

The Georgian foreign ministry said the Black Sea port of Poti, the site of a major oil shipment facility, had been "devastated" by a Russian air raid.

Meanwhile Georgian TV reported that the Georgian-controlled section of the Kodori Gorge in Abkhazia was under fire, blaming the bombardment on Russian forces.

The foreign minister in Abkhazia's self-declared government, Sergei Shamba, said Abkhaz forces had launched an attack aimed at driving Georgian forces out of the gorge.

It was not clear whether planes used in the attack on the gorge belonged to Russia or to the Abkhaz separatists.

Russia has a peacekeeping force in Abkhazia under an agreement made following civil wars in the 1990s, when the region declared independence and formed links with Moscow.

Territorial claims

President Medvedev said Russia's military aim in South Ossetia was to force the Georgians to stop fighting.

"Our peacekeepers and the units attached to them [ie, Ossetian separatists] are currently carrying out an operation to force the Georgian side to [agree to] peace," he said.

"They also bear the responsibility for protecting the population."

Speaking to the BBC, the Russian foreign minister insisted his country did not want all-out war with Georgia, but was prepared to do whatever was necessary to restore the situation in South Ossetia and to defend its civilian population, most of whom have been given Russian citizenship.

"Mr Saakashvili keeps saying that we want to chop off a part of Georgian territory," Mr Lavrov said.

"He's also saying that this is not just about Georgia, this is about the future of Europe because he says Russia is also making territorial claims to other [countries], including the Baltic states, which is rubbish."

Mr Lavrov said Georgia had violated a peace deal under which Georgia had agreed not to use force in the South Ossetian dispute.

The BBC's James Rodgers in Moscow says diplomatic initiatives to end the fighting have so far proved fruitless.

On Friday evening, the UN Security Council failed to agree on the wording of a statement calling for a ceasefire.

The UK, the US and France, are pinpointing what they say is Russia's aggression as the key factor in the slide towards war, while Moscow insists Georgia is to blame.

Russian Forces Battle Georgians

The BBC reports:

Russian forces are locked in fierce clashes with Georgia inside its breakaway South Ossetia region, reports say, amid fears of all-out war.

Moscow sent armoured units across the border after Georgia moved against Russian-backed separatists.

Russia says 12 of its soldiers are dead, and separatists estimate that 1,400 civilians have died.

Georgia accuses Russia of waging war, and says it has suffered heavy losses in bombing raids which Russia denies.

Russian tanks have reportedly reached the northern suburbs of the regional capital, Tskhinvali, and there were conflicting claims about who was in control of the city.

"Now our peacekeepers are waging a fierce battle with regular forces from the Georgian army in the southern region of Tskhinvali," a military official was quoted as saying by the Russian news agency, Interfax.

Georgian forces had moved on Thursday night to regain control of the province, which has had de facto independence since a war against Georgia that ended in 1992.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said Russia was making war on his country.

He told the BBC: "Our troops are attacked by thousands of troops coming in from Russia."

He said Georgia had shot down several Russian planes and accused Moscow of bombing Georgian air bases and towns, resulting in the death of 30 military personnel and civilians.

Despite denials from Moscow, the Russian air force has been carrying out air raids in South Ossetia and Georgia itself, says the BBC's Richard Galpin, in Gori, eastern Georgia.

'Ethnic cleansing'

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said he had to act to defend South Ossetia's civilians, most of whom have been given Russian citizenship.

He also voiced anger over the reported fatalities of Russian servicemen in the breakaway province.

"We will not allow their deaths to go unpunished," he said. "Those responsible will receive a deserved punishment."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow had received reports that villages in South Ossetia were being ethnically cleansed.

The BBC's Matthew Collin in Tbilisi says battles continue around Tskhinvali with the sound of explosions, rocket fire and military planes flying overhead.

Witnesses said the regional capital was devastated.

Fleeing resident Lyudmila Ostayeva, 50, told AP news agency: "I saw bodies lying on the streets, around ruined buildings, in cars. It's impossible to count them now. There is hardly a single building left undamaged."

International Red Cross spokeswoman Anna Nelson said it had received reports that hospitals in Tskhinvali were having trouble coping with the influx of casualties and ambulances were having trouble reaching the injured.

In other developments:

* Georgia's president said his country was calling home 1,000 troops from Iraq to help deal with the crisis
* Russia said it would cut all air links with Georgia from midnight on Friday
* The US voiced support for Georgia's territorial integrity after President George W Bush spoke with Russian PM Vladimir Putin about the conflict at the Beijing Olympics
* The European security organisation, the OSCE, warned that the fighting in South Ossetia could escalate into a full-scale war
* The US and the EU were reported to be sending a joint delegation to the region to seek a ceasefire and Nato said it was seriously concerned

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]

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]

Georgia Votes

An exit poll suggests President Mikhail Saakashvili's governing party has won parliamentary elections in Georgia.

Mr Saakashvili's United National Movement took 63% of the vote, said the exit poll - with the opposition trailing with 14%.

Opposition supporters gathered in the capital Tbilisi for a late night protest, saying the vote was rigged, but numbers fell short of expectations.

The vote is being seen as a test of Georgia's commitment to democracy.

The election took place amid fears of political unrest, and rising tensions between Georgia and Russia. [More]

‘Georgian spy’ held in Russia

Russian security forces say they have arrested a Georgian spy with links to North Caucasian militants. Tbilisi denies the claim, which comes amid high tensions and bomb blasts in breakaway South Ossetia.

Moscow officials said on May 16 that Russian citizen Ramzan Turkoshvili, a native of Georgia’s Pankisi Gorge, was working as a go-between for Georgian intelligence services and illegal guerilla groups in Chechnya and other regions in the Northern Caucasus.

According to a source in the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), Turkoshvili was also tasked with gathering information about Russian state officials for recruitment purposes, as well as negotiating with Russian traffic police to ensure the safe passage of militants across the Northern Caucasus.

The FSB also claimed Turkoshvili was connected to a terrorist leader now in hiding in the Pankisi area. Russian news agencies report that Turkoshvili confessed. There is no recent information on his location or status.

Georgian officials denied the charges. Shota Utiashvili, a spokesman for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, called the news “disinformation.” “It’s not even serious to comment on the details of this,” Utiashvili told reporters.

Rebel Chechen groups also denied the report. Movladi Udugov, the head of a separatists’ analytical group, said the information was targeted for “Kremlin propaganda consumers,” according to separatist website Kavkaz-Center.

Announced as the top Georgian official for conflict issues held talks in Moscow, the accusations fed smoldering tensions around Georgia’s breakaway regions. [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.

Kokoity Cuts Off Cooperation With Diplomats Accredited In Georgia

Eduard Kokoity, de facto president of the unrecognized republic South Ossetia, cut off cooperation with all diplomats accredited to the Republic of Georgia except for Vyacheslav Kovalenko, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Georgia. [More]

Russia warns Georgia of negative outcome over "peacekeepers" arrest

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday the detention of Russian "peacekeepers" by Georgia August 29 was a 'blunt arbitrariness' on behalf of the ex-Soviet republic.

On August 29, Georgian Interior Ministry officers apprehended three peacekeepers from the joint forces' North Ossetian battalion, and although one of them was released, two were sentenced later to two months imprisonment.

Georgian authorities reported that Interior Ministry officers had detained Tariel Khachirov and Vitaly Valiyev on suspicion of illegally detaining nine Georgians August 26 and 27. [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]

Russia says Islamists killed crossing from Georgia

Russia's FSB internal security service killed two armed men on Wednesday whom it described as Islamist extremists as they tried to cross over a mountainous border from Georgia.

Russia has in the past accused Georgia of not doing enough to prevent Chechen rebels hiding in its mountains, although the Georgian army has since swept through mountain valleys where rebels were believed to be hiding. [More]

OSCE to present findings on Georgia-Russia missile row

Europe’s leading security watchdog will present its findings Thursday on an alleged Russian missile strike on Georgian territory last month, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said.

Officials from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) are preparing a report on the incident following meetings in Georgia and Russia, said Moratinos, who holds the rotating OSCE chairmanship. [More]

Russia demands release of N.Ossetian "peacekeepers" in Georgia

The Russian Foreign Ministry demanded Monday the immediate release of two North Ossetian members of the Joint Peacekeeping Force sentenced in Georgia to two months imprisonment.

Last Wednesday, Georgian Interior Ministry officers apprehended three "peacekeepers" from the joint forces' North Ossetian battalion, although one of them was released, two were sentenced later to two months imprisonment. [More]

How Gazprom turned up the heat on the West

In January 2006, just a month after Ukraine's Orange Revolution, which ousted the pro-Russian leadership in favour of pro-Western reformers under President Viktor Yushchenko, the former Soviet republic suddenly found its gas supply had been switched off by Moscow, which raised prices fourfold overnight.

The cruel midwinter move sent European governments into a tailspin as they realised the inherent vulnerability stemming from their own dependence on Russian gas. The Kremlin promised that Gazprom would honour its contracts elsewhere, and that the shutdown to Ukraine would not have a knock-on effect in Western Europe. France, Italy, Poland, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania all suffered a dip in gas supplies as a result of Ukraine's disconnection, yet curiously Germany, which depends on Russia for 40 per cent of its natural gas supplies, was not affected. The former German Chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, is chairman of a Gazprom German-Russian pipeline that will carry gas to Europe via the Baltic.

Later that same month, another pro-Western former Soviet republic, Georgia, was the victim of unexplained sabotage to the gas pipeline, which left supplies cut off. The prime suspect was Russia, but Moscow simply accused Georgia of "hysteria" for suggesting that the Kremlin might be using gas as a political weapon. [More]