Georgia-Russia Dispute
The conflict between Russia and Georgia has been years in the making. Here are some key events influencing the relationship recently.
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Ossetians, a people of Persian descent surrounded by ethnicities with nothing in common with them, have been trapped for centuries between the Russians and Georgians. In 1801, the swallowing of Georgia by the Russian Empire temporarily reunited Ossetians under one rule and any conflict was quelled.
Photos: Georgia On The Brink
STORY: Georgia Fast Facts
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With the fall of the Russian Empire, tensions between Georgia and the Ossetians flared up again, and rival Communist forces used the two sides to fight their battles, with the Menshevik Georgians facing uprisings from 1918 through 1920 in the region now known as South Ossetia. The Ossetians received support from the Bolsheviks.
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Georgia's brief independence from Russia comes to an end, with Ossetians being a contributing force to this, as they aided the invading Red Army.
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With the Soviet Union in the midst of its dissolution, Georgia declares war on the Ossetians.
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Georgia officially declares its independence from the Soviet Union.
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The war ends with the semi-autonomous region of South Ossetia being created within Georgia, operating as a de facto state of its own, with peacekeeping forces consisting of Russian, North Ossetian and Georgian forces. A semblance of peace and semi-autonomy did not satisfy the South Ossetians, who voted in 1992 for independence and continued to press for it.
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A pipeline explosion in southern Russia leaves Georgia without natural gas supplies for a week during a harsh winter; Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili blames Moscow. Russian officials deny involvement.
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Russia bans imports of Georgian wine, a major export, citing health concerns.
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Saakashvili passes up a Moscow summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States, an alliance of former Soviet nations, after the Kremlin tells him that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not have time for a one-on-one meeting.
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President Saakashvili uses force to crack down on anti-government protesters. He also expels three Russian diplomats and accuses Moscow of fomenting the unrest. Russia responds by expelling three Georgian diplomats.
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Russia completes withdrawal of troops based in Georgia since the 1991 Soviet collapse, although several thousand remain as peacekeepers in the breakaway provinces of South Ossetia and in Abkhazia, despite protests from the Georgian government.
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Moscow agrees to restore air travel between Russia and Georgia. In October 2006, Russia banned flights, stopped mail service and cracked down on Georgian migrants after Georgia briefly detained four Russian military officers it accused of spying.
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NATO member states meeting at a summit in Romania agree that Georgia and Ukraine can one day join the alliance, but they stop short of giving them a roadmap or firm timetable for accession to membership due to pressure from Russia.
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Georgia threatens to shoot down Russian planes if they intrude on Georgian airspace again, after Russia confirms that four of its planes circled over South Ossetia.
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Georgian forces and separatists in South Ossetia agree to observe a ceasefire and hold Russian-mediated talks to end their long-simmering conflict. Hours later, Georgian forces launch a surprise attack, sending a large force against the breakaway province and reaching the capital Tskhinvali. The head of Georgian forces in South Ossetia says the operation is intended to "restore constitutional order" to the region, while the government says the troops are "neutralizing separatist fighters attacking civilians."
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Russia pours troops and armour towards South Ossetia and engages Georgian forces in and around Tskhinvali. Georgia says its military bases have been attacked by Russian aircraft. President Saakashvili says his forces control Tskhinvali. The separatists, for their part, say they control the city.
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The Georgian parliament approves a presidential decree declaring a "state of war". Russia says its troops have wrested control of the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, from Georgian forces. Russian planes attack military targets in the central town of Gori, close to South Ossetia. Thousands flee South Ossetia.
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Georgia says it has ordered its troops to begin a ceasefire, that its forces have withdrawn from South Ossetia and that the Russians are fully in control in the region's capital, Tskhinvali. But Russia says clashes are continuing, and it launches fresh bombing raids near the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.
Photos: Georgia On The Brink
STORY: Georgia Fast Facts
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Russian and Georgian forces continue operations with reports of Russian air attacks against Georgian targets close to South Ossetia and nearer to the capital, Tbilisi. European diplomats meet Georgia's president in Tbilisi, and convince President Saakashvili to sign a draft ceasefire agreement. But Russian officials reject the ceasefire, accusing Georgia of continued bombardments of South Ossetia. Elsewhere, tensions rise in Abkhazia, a second breakaway region of Georgia.
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Amid fears in Georgia that Russia is planning a large-scale assault, Georgian forces pull back towards the capital, Tbilisi. Reports emerge of bombing raids on Gori, the town close to South Ossetia from where Georgia launched its military operation on Aug. 7. In Abkhazia, Georgia's other separatist region, Russian-backed rebels begin operations against Georgian troops. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announces that his forces will end their operation in Georgia, claiming that Russia's aims have been achieved.
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Russian tanks rumbled into the city of Gori and thrust deep into Georgian territory. President Bush holds press conference and demands that Russia end all military activities in the former Soviet republic and dispatched U.S. aid to devastated Georgians.
Photos: Georgia On The Brink
STORY: Georgia Fast Facts
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Russian forces pull back but apparently sabotage airfields and other military infrastructure in Georgia, in a deliberate attempt to cripple the already battered, U.S.-trained Georgian military, a U.S. official said. Reports from Georgia indicated that Russian forces were doing what they can to disable Georgia's ability to fight a future conflict.
Photos: Russia Flexes Muscles
STORY: Georgia Fast Facts
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In his strongest declaration of support for Georgia, President Bush said America would stand by the Georgian people and that the staunch American ally's territorial integrity must be respected. But Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, speaking at virtually the same time, said the separatist Georgian regions at the center of the conflict appear destined for independence. Georgia's President Saakashvili signs an EU-brokered ceasefire after nearly five hours of talks with the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
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Russia follows Georgia in signing a peace deal to end their conflict, but says troops will only withdraw once additional security measures are in place. Russian tanks move within 22 miles of Tbilisi, after advancing to the village of Igoeti.
Photos: Russia Flexes Muscles
Who's Who: Russia, Georgia At Odds
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Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, tells French President Nicolas Sarkozy, his forces will begin withdrawing from Georgia on Monday, Aug. 18. But Medvedev indicates that additional troops sent to Georgia will withdraw to South Ossetia, rather than to their pre-conflict positions in Russia as agreed in a French-brokered ceasefire signed by both sides.
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It is unclear whether Russia has begun to pull back troops from Georgia, despite pledges to do so, with the two sides issuing contradictory statements. Russian troops remain stationed near Tbilisi, with Moscow saying it has the right to keep some troops as peacekeepers in a buffer zone around South Ossetia. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the West must deprive Russia of any strategic victory from its assault on Georgia.
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Russia says it has completed its withdrawal of troops from Georgian territory - but Georgia, France and the U.S. say Russia continues to violate the terms of a ceasefire deal.
Who's Who: Russia, Georgia At Odds
Photos: Shaky Cease-Fire
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Russia formally recognized the breakaway Georgian territories at the heart of its war with Georgia, heightening tensions with the West as the United States dispatched a military ship bearing aid to a port city still patrolled by Russian troops. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev later said Russia did not seek or fear a new Cold War and that it was up to the West to avoid it.
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President Bush announced $1 billion in new economic aid to Georgia to help the pro-Western former Soviet republic rebuild after Russia's invasion. "Georgia has a strong economic foundation and leaders with an impressive record of reform," Mr. Bush said in his statement on the aid package. "Our additional economic assistance will help the people of Georgia recover from the assault on their country, and continue to build a prosperous and competitive economy."
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Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega formally recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, becoming the first country other than Russia to recognize their independence. Russia also received support from six other former Soviet republics — Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan — who issued a joint statement condemning Georgia for using force to try to retake control of South Ossetia.
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Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announces that as part of Russia fully fulfilling terms of a cease-fire ending Georgian conflict, his forces will withdraw from Georgia after 200 EU monitors deploy to South Ossetia by Oct. 1. He also said international talks on security in South Ossetia will begin Oct. 15 in Geneva.
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Credits:
CBS/AP/BBC
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