European Union

Ambassador of Georgia to the USA, Canada and Mexico H.E. Dr. Vasil Sikharulidze
National Press Club
Washington, DC
11 August, 2008

I want to thank each of you for coming here at this late hour. I appreciate your attendance on such a short notice.

The time is a critical for my country – a free and democratic Georgia faces extinction at the hands of a brutal Russian invasion that is designed to change state regime in Georgia and destroy the country. This must not, must not, be allowed to happen.

As I stand here, Georgian military units have pulled back to the capital and formed a final defensive perimeter awaiting another Russian attack.

The entire country of Georgia since Friday has faced overwhelming attacks as Russia has used its military might to invade my country—by land, by sea and by air. Cyber attacks have taken down government websites and news outlets to blind the media and world community to their invasion.

Make no mistake, this Russian invasion was premeditated, well planned and executed. Russia has used the separatist conflicts in South Ossetia and Abkhazia that it masterminded, organized, financed, and fought alongside the separatists in the early 1990s, as a launch pad for its military invasion.

Minister Frattini continues to follow the situation in Georgia with close concern

Rome 10 August 2008

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Franco Frattini, continues to follow developments in Georgia with close concern. He is liaising with the Premier, Silvio Berlusconi and staying in constant contact with his colleagues in the major EU and Atlantic countries.

Minister Frattini exchanged views today, 10 August, with the French Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner, and the Finnish Foreign Minister, Alexander Stubb, in view of their mission to Tbilisi and Moscow in their roles as, respectively, President of the European Union’s Council of Ministers and current Chairman of the OSCE.

During their talks Minister Frattini stressed the need for the greatest possible cohesion between the countries of the EU on the lines proposed by the French Presidency. He also underscored the timely need for close coordination between the European countries in the United Nations Security Council, and Germany, in order to establish a common position in view of the forthcoming discussions in New York.

11.08.2008

The United States of America:

The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Zalmay Khalilzad, told the U.N. Security Council that a Russian-backed military operation in Abkhazia was under way;

The European States/ The European Union/ The European Council:

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb are planning to travel to Moscow Monday after spending more than a day meeting Georgian officials searching for a way to end the conflict; Stubb said they had put together some elements of a "forceful way forward" to a cease-fire and withdrawal plan; Sources close to the delegation said the two ministers, along with their Georgian counterpart, would visit the Georgian city of Gori Monday afternoon to see first-hand damage caused by Russian airstrikes;
French President Nicolas Sarkozy would visit the capitals of both Russia and Georgia on Tuesday in an effort to end fighting between the former Soviet republics; Sarkozy's office has confirmed that he plans to travel to Moscow to meet with Russian President Dimitri Medvedev;

UN

August 10, 5:00 pm EST

New Developments

• The last 72 hours military forces of the Russian Federation 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.
• Ukraine threatens to block Russian warships from returning to the port of Sevastopol. “Ukraine…reserves the right to bar warships and vessels which could take part in the action (conflict with Georgia) from returning to Ukrainian territory,” read a Foreign Ministry statement released on Sunday. The Russian warfleet consisting of 11 ships is deploying to the Georgian coast and holds the potential for cutting off Georgia’s access to the sea.
• Civilian infrastructure continues to be bombed with the Baku-Ceylan energy pipeline a target. Bombs missed the pipeline but further attacks are expected.
• Russians are using strategic weapons against Georgian civilian targets according to reports including Tu-22 bombers (capable of delivering nuclear missiles), and land-based cruise missiles mounted with conventional explosives. The Tu-22 can carry more than 50,000lbs of bombs.
• Russia’s 58^th Army, known as the Butchers of Chechnya, is leading the Russian assault against Georgia. This army received international condemnation for slaughtering civilians in Chechnya. Read more in the LA Times article Chechens Say Real Horror Began After Battle Ended, http://www.cdi.org/russia/Johnson/3710.html##4.
• NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Russia violated Georgia's territorial integrity in South Ossetia and employed a "disproportionate use of force."
• Russian troops continue to pour into South Ossetia. According to reports more than 6,000 soldiers including special forces, 90 tanks and 150 armored personnel carriers have passed have arrived in the last 24 hours.
• Russian tanks attempt to break out of South Ossetia and drive to the strategic Georgian city of Gori demonstrating their clear intention to take and hold Georgian territory.
• Polish, Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian Presidents condemn Russian aggression in a joint statement. “We regret that not granting of the NATO’s Membership Action Plan (MAP) to Georgia was seen as a green light for agression in the region.” http://georgiandaily.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5572&Itemid=65
• Georgian forces have withdrawn from Tskhinvali, South Ossetia.
• President Saakashvili again appeals for a cease fire to stop the bloodshed.

Paul Goble

Vienna, August 10 – The war that has broken out between the Republic of Georgia and the Russian Federation calls attention to two features of that region which Western governments have been loathe to recognize and which, having failed to acknowledge, have led those governments to make statements that help explain and are compounding a looming tragedy.

On the one hand, the conflict over South Ossetia shows that Russia is not the status quo power the United States and the Europeans have wanted to believe that it had somehow become and that it cannot be transformed into one simply by constantly suggesting that it is and including it in various institutions intended for countries who want to make the current system work.

Instead, Moscow in recent years thanks in large measure to the rise of Vladimir Putin has emerged as a revisionist power ready, willing and increasingly able to challenge the 1991 settlement, especially when any of the governments of the former Soviet republics such as Georgia has just done act in ways that open the door to Russian aggression.

And on the other hand, precisely because the U.S. and its allies take their wishes about Russia for facts, Washington and to a lesser extent the European capitals routinely have made statements to the non-Russian governments that suggest the West will back them up in any dust up with the Russians.

The Statements/actions Made by the Key State Persons/ Organizations on Recent Events of August 08.08-10.08.2008

The United States of America

President Bush on Sunday called French President and current EU head Nicolas Sarkozy to discuss the conflict, the White House said;

White House Deputy National Security Adviser Jim Jeffrey said the United States was urgently looking into the report, saying that it would be a very serious escalation for Russia to move into Georgia beyond the Abkhazia region. "We have made it clear to the Russians that if the disproportionate and dangerous escalation on the Russian side continues, that this will have a significant long-term impact on U.S.-Russian relations," said Jeffrey, speaking to reporters in Beijing, China, on Sunday;

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia
PRESS RELEASE
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http://www.am.gov.lv

Declaration of Presidents of Parliaments of the Baltic States [2008-08-10 19:54:46]

With deep concern and anxiety, we are observing the events in Georgia which at this moment is under intensive attacks by the army of the Russian Federation.
We are calling on the international community to decisively condemn actions of Russia and to promptly take all necessary steps to stop the war and bring the parties to the negotiation table.
Justification of Russia's actions in Georgia by the need to protect its citizens is unacceptable. Alleged reasons for taking up a war against Georgia raise concerns about the future in every state with Russian citizens living on its territory.

We are concerned and disappointed with the actions and behaviour of Russia, as an important actor in the politics of the region and the whole world, which will inevitably have effect on further bilateral and multilateral relations with this country. Russia's military aggression against another sovereign state and actions contradicting the statements of its leaders raise serious doubts about the reliability and consistency of Russia as a partner.

Furthermore, we are convinced that the response of the international community to Russia's aggression against Georgia is at the same time a test for Euro-Atlantic security institutions of their reliability and solidarity. Therefore we are calling on our governments to discuss, in cooperation with NATO and EU partners, measures to prevent similar actions in future. NATO and the EU must assume responsibility for the security and stability of their partners to demonstrate Russia's leadership it cannot do whatever it wants with its neighbours that share the values and principles of the Euro-Atlantic community.

Russia's aggression against Georgia must be stopped, with the help of coordinated actions of the international community, immediately before all Georgian infrastructure and economy is destroyed which would bring about humanitarian catastrophe with long-term consequences in the entire region.

Ene Ergma, President of the Riigikogu of Estonia
Gundars Daudze, President of the Saeima of Latvia
Ceslovas Jursenas, President of the Seimas of Lithuania

UPDATE 2

August 9, 5:00 pm EST

New Developments

• The last 48 hours military forces of the Russian Federation 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.
• A Russian Black Sea warfleet consisting of 11 ships is deploying to the Georgian coast off Abkhazia, another breakaway region of Georgia, on a “humanitarian” mission. This represents another dangerous escalation in their war on Georgia and threatens to cut off Georgian shipping.
• Polish, Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian Presidents condemn Russian aggression in a joint statement. “We regret that not granting of the NATO’s Membership Action Plan (MAP) to Georgia was seen as a green light for agression in the region.” http://georgiandaily.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5572&Itemid=65

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.