Russia Warns West Against Backing Georgia
Moscow: Supporting Saakashvili "Mistake Of Historic Proportion"; Claims That Arms Came In With U.S. Aid
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addresses students of MGIMO (Moscow State Institute for Foreign Relations) in Moscow, Sept. 1, 2008. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)
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Georgian honor guard soldiers lower coffins into the ground at a funeral ceremony of Georgian soldiers killed during Georgian-Russian war in Tbilisi, Georgia on Aug. 30, 2008. (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)
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Relatives of Georgian officer Shalva Dolidze, killed during Georgian-Russian war, mourn at a funeral ceremony in Tbilisi, Georgia, Aug. 30, 2008. (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)
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Georgian honor guard soldiers hold national flags over coffins at a funeral ceremony of Georgian soldiers killed during Georgian-Russian war in Tbilisi, Georgia, Aug. 30, 2008. (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)
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Photo Essay A Shaky Cease-Fire Russian soldiers take Georgian troops prisoner, remain in key Black Sea port.
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Who's Who Russia And Georgia At Odds Some of the faces and places involved in the tense dispute.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's remarks are likely to anger the United States and Europe and enrage Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili. He made it clear Moscow wants Saakashvili out of power in Georgia.
"If the United States and its allies in the end choose not their own national interests, not the interests of the Georgian people, but rather choose the Saakashvili regime, it will be a mistake of historic proportions," Lavrov said.
"For a start it would be right to impose an embargo on weapons to this regime, until different authorities turn Georgia a normal state," he said in an address at Russia's top foreign policy graduate school.
Later Monday, Russia suggested U.S. ships that brought humanitarian aid to Georgia may have also carried weapons.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said such suspicions were among the motives for Russia's call for an arms embargo against Georgia.
Nesterenko told a news conference there were "suppositions" that the cargo of U.S. military ships that have brought aid for war-battered Georgia may also have included "military components."
Nesterenko also said that Russia would welcome an international police presence and more Western military observers in what is now a Russian-controlled zone around South Ossetia, the focus of the war earlier this month. But he indicated it will be a long time before Russia is ready to reduce its military presence.
The foreign ministry officials spoke as the European Union prepared for a summit Monday to discuss the Georgia crisis and further relations with Russia.
Russia's ties to the West have been driven to their lowest point since the Soviet collapse of 1991 by the war last month in Georgia, where Saakashvili angered Moscow by courting the West and seeking NATO membership.
Russia repelled a Georgian offensive against the breakaway Georgian province of South Ossetia and sent troops, tanks and bombers deep into undisputed Georgian territory, where some still maintain positions. Moscow last week recognized South Ossetia and another breakaway region, Abkhazia, as independent countries.
Russia says it was provoked. The United States and Europe have accused Russia of using disproportionate force and of violating the terms of a cease-fire that called for the sides to withdrawal their forces to pre-conflict positions. They have also denounced Russia's recognition of the separatist regions, saying Georgia's borders must remain intact.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 225 CommentsShareholders in the BTC pipeline are: British Petroleum, AzBTC, Chevron, Statoil, TPAO, ENI, Total, Itochu, INPEX, ConocoPhillips & Amerada Hess.
Russia is the second largest supplier of oil & gas on the planet.
After loosing Iraqi oil to Operation Iraqi Freedom, they negotiated supplies with Iran. The Russians were not happy with Cheneys BTC pipeline or the Caspian Sea Pipelines project going through Afghanistan. This threatens their economy based on oil & gas.
Again it''s the Bush administrations lust for money in World markets for their BIG OIL buddies
Can we get rid of the "Monaco" photo on the right column showing the woman with the godawful, sagging skin?
It''s been posted there forever. Terrible photo. She should sue the photographer. I think she''s one of Monaco''s royal family. (That & a dime will buy you a newspaper).
Posted by Hacker2xy at 11:59 AM : Sep 02, 2008,,,
Yawn ... And there will be a NATO counter answer. Each side will keep answering each other as they always have, nothing new ...
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says it is weighing its options following the arrival of more NATO vessels in the Black Sea, according to reports. Putin, visiting Uzbekistan to promote the launch of a natural gas pipeline Tuesday, said that its response to ships would be "calm, without any sort of hysteria. But of course, there will be an answer."
Asked by exactly what measures Russia would take, Putin was quoted as answering "You''ll see."
Shareholders in the BTC pipeline are: British Petroleum, AzBTC, Chevron, Statoil, TPAO, ENI, Total, Itochu, INPEX, ConocoPhillips & Amerada Hess.
Russia is the second largest supplier of oil & gas on the planet.
After loosing Iraqi oil to Operation Iraqi Freedom, they negotiated supplies with Iran. The Russians were not happy with Cheneys BTC pipeline or the Caspian Sea Pipelines project going through Afghanistan. This threatens their economy based on oil & gas.
Again it''s the Bush administrations lust for money in World markets for their BIG OIL buddies
The Kremlin described the presence of American warships in the Black Sea as a "direct confrontation" yesterday, and a spokesman for the Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, confirmed last night that Russia was now taking precautionary measures. "Let''s hope we do not see any direct confrontation in that," he said.
What''s good for the goose is good for the gander. Nobody want the forces of a rival military organization right on his doorstep.
The US are right to feel threatened, but Russia shouldn''t?
But then again, does the U.S. feel lucky and think Russia won''t retaliate? They better think twice.
"Despite the apparent strength, the NATO naval group in the Black Sea is not battle-worthy," Admiral Eduard Baltin said. "If necessary, a single missile salvo from the Moskva missile cruiser and two or three missile boats would be enough to annihilate the entire group."
"Within 20 minutes the waters would be clear,"
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Posted by AVSuvorov at 02:58 AM : Sep 02, 2008
Yeah, well the Germans defeated the Polish too without batting an eye. Poor *** still thought horses were a necessity for a cavalry.
I was going to commend you for a few things you are correct about however, the fact that you don''t understand the advantage of a volunteer army is a dead giveaway that you are a soviet mindset. The Russian conscript army is pathetic. They are bringing professional volunteer units online like airborne forces. But thinking the U.S. army is all dropouts and retards you really don''t know what you are talking about. All you seem able to cling to is one lucky guy who led an group of soldiers into a swamp. It sounds like a nice Stalinist story to get other morons to attack tanks with pitchforks but then again the Russians have never cared much about the individual.
When I was trained to kill Russians it was simple. They might have a lot of tanks but just aim for the one with the flag on it because he is the only one who knows what is going on, kill him and everyone else stops and doesn''t know what to do. The U.S. Army has long ago figured out a chain of command so go ahead and keep talking. Communist''s suck and so do you.
Posted by AVSuvorov at 02:35 AM : Sep 02, 2008
I''ll take our military over any other.
...best in the world hands down.
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