Georgia

MEDIA ADVISORY, Contact: Monika Ramanauskaite
August 12, 2008, Tel: (301) 340-1954

CENTRAL AND EAST EUROPEAN COALITION
1612 K Street, N.W., Suite 410
Washington, D.C. 20006

RE: PRESS CONFERENCE ON RUSSIAN-GEORGIAN CONFLICT
WHEN: Tuesday, August 12, 2008
WHERE: Cannon House Office Building, Room#441
TIME: 3:00pm

Washington, DC (CEEC) - The Central and East European Coalition (CEEC)* will sponsor a press conference to discuss the current status of the Russian invasion of Georgia. Speakers will include Mr. Mamuka Tsereteli, President – Georgian Association of the U.S.; Amb. Bill Courtney, former U.S. ambassador to Georgia; and, members of the Central and East European Coalition representing various American national organizations of Central and East European heritage. “The goal of this press conference is to bring attention to grave effects of the Russian invasion on the Georgian nation, as well as the implications for other countries in the region. The threats of a Russian ‘sphere of influence’ are looming over the Central and East European countries,” remarked Marju Rink-Abel, President of the Estonian American National Council.

The CEEC has issued a statement (attached) regarding the Russian invasion of the sovereign territory of Georgia.

Timeline by 12th of August 14:50

12 August

14:50 Village Sakoritno in Kaspi region and village Ruisi in Kareli region are bombed by Russian aviation

14:00 In village Agara (Khashuri region) Russian military jets bombarded an ambulance vehicle

13:25 Three Russian airplanes dropped bombs on the village of Orchosani near Gori.

12:30 Vasiani base nearby Tbilisi has been bombed by Russian planes.

12:25 Oil pipeline 5 km from the city of Rustavi has been bombed.

10:15 Russian planes bombed Gori. The territory around administration building and city market have been bombed.

In the morning ours of 12 August Russian airplanes bombed the village of Tkviavi near Tskhinvali once again.

03:25 Russian envoy to the UN Churkin announced on the press conference that Russia will not support the resolution. Georgian envoy Alasania announced that suggested resolution is acceptable to Georgia.

02:15 Emergency meeting of the Security Council of the UN started. The resolution about cease-fire prepared by France was discussed.

02:05 Russian aviation bombarded Kaspi 30 Km from Tbilisi out of conflict zone. 3 bombs were dropped near the Heidelberg Cement factory (one from the two cement factories in the country). No damage was reported.

Reuters

08.10.08, 2:26 PM ET

RUSSIAN FEDERATION - (Recasts with U.S., Russian and Georgian envoys)

By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 10 (Reuters) - The United States suggested on Sunday that Russia was interested in "regime change" in Georgia after Moscow rejected Tbilisi's offer of a cease-fire in the separatist region of South Ossetia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had told U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that the president of Georgia "must go," the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, told the Security Council.

Khalilzad then looked straight at Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin and asked if Moscow was looking for "regime change."

"Is the goal of the Russian Federation to change the leadership of Georgia?" he said.

Churkin did not directly address the question but said there are leaders who "become an obstacle."

"Sometimes those leaders need to contemplate how useful they have become to their people," Churkin told reporters later.

"Regime change is purely an American invention," he said. "We're all for democracy in Georgia."

In Moscow, Lavrov said the departure of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was not a must to solve the crisis but that Russia no longer saw him as a partner.

August 10, 2008

Georgian military forces were able to resist attacks by the Russian army and managed to push and keep Russian forces out of the South Ossetian town of Tskhinvali until very late into the night.

The fierce battles inflicted heavy damage on the Russian forces. During the course of the day, they lost about 40 tanks, as well as a number of smaller artillery pieces, APCs and soldiers.

Early in the morning, overwhelming Russian reinforcements were poured into the theatre, including dozens of tanks, APCs, and katyusha rocket trucks, supported by hundreds of troops.

Russian air forces have been attacking Georgian positions throughout the night in and around Tskhinvali, in a “burned earth” tactic reminiscent of the Russian devastation of Grozny, Chechnya, in the 1990s. As a result, Tskhinvali was largely reduced to rubble, and Georgian forces were forced to redeploy to the outskirts of the city, and unilaterally ceased returning fire. Nevertheless, Russian attacks continued.

Russian Invasion of Georgia

Update
August 8, 1:30 pm EST

Background

• During the last 24 hours military forces of the Russian Federation in coordination with the Russian-supported and supplied South Ossetian militia launched combined air and ground attacks on Georgian territory. This act of aggression is tantamount to an invasion and declaration of war against Georgia and comes at a time when Georgia has been trying to integrate itself with Euro-Atlantic institutions and strengthen its democracy and free market economy.
• Ground attacks by Russian and South Ossetian military forces have taken place in Tskhinvali while Russian air strikes on Georgian villages include Marneuli, Gori, Oni, Bolnisi, and Vaziani.
• The Georgian air base at Marneuli and Vaziani located just outside the capital of Tblisi has sustained heavy damage from Russian strikes that have killed Georgian military personnel as well as civilians and destroyed Georgian military aircraft.
• Russian military forces—mechanized tank and infantry units are moving from the Russian federation into South Ossetia in blatant contravention of international agreements.