Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Georgia says it's on verge of war with Russia

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Georgia says it's on verge of war with Russia

    This seems a brewing disaster.

    Georgia says "very close" to war with Russia

    By Mark JohnTue May 6, 11:27 AM ET

    Russia's deployment of extra troops in the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia has brought the prospect of war "very close," a minister of ex-Soviet Georgia said on Tuesday.

    Separately, in comments certain to fan rising tension between Moscow and Tbilisi, the "foreign minister" of the breakaway Black Sea region was quoted as saying it was ready to hand over military control to Russia.

    "We literally have to avert war," Temur Iakobashvili, a Georgian State Minister, told reporters in Brussels.

    Asked how close to such a war the situation was, he replied: "Very close, because we know Russians very well."

    "We know what the signals are when you see propaganda waged against Georgia. We see Russian troops entering our territories on the basis of false information," he said.

    At a banking event in Madrid, Vice Finance Minister Dimitri Gvindadze said the Georgian economy was holding up despite the tensions. However ratings agency Fitch said a conflict would likely hit Georgia's ratings but not immediately Russia's.

    "Obviously if we have an unfreezing of the conflict that will be extremely negative for the country (Georgia) and would lead to negative ratings action," Fitch's Edward Parker told Reuters in London.

    Georgia, a vital energy transit route in the Caucasus region, has angered Russia, its former Soviet master with which it shares a land border, by seeking NATO membership.

    Russia has said its troop build-up is needed to counter what it says are Georgian plans to attack Abkhazia, a sliver of land by the Black Sea, and has accused Tbilisi of trying to suck the West into a war -- allegations Georgia rejects.

    Tensions have been steadily mounting and escalated after Georgia accused Russia of shooting down one of its drones over Abkhazia in April, a claim Russia denied.

    An extra Russian contingent began arriving in Abkhazia last week. Moscow has not said how many troops would be added but said the total would remain within the 3,000 limit allowed under a United Nations-brokered ceasefire agreement signed in 1994. Diplomats expect the reinforcement to be of the order of 1,200.

    SECURITY GUARANTEES

    Russian soldiers acting as peacekeepers patrol areas between Georgian and Abkhazian forces but handing full military control of the breakaway province to the Kremlin would alarm both the Georgian government and its allies in the West.

    "Those 200 km (120 miles), the distance between the Psou and the Inguri rivers, are all Abkhazia. We agree to Russia taking this territory under its military control," Sergei Shamba, "foreign minister" of Abkhazia, told Russian newspaper Izvestia.

    "In exchange, we will demand guarantees of our security."

    Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow had not received an official request from Abkhazia for its military to take control of the region.

    Iakobashvili urged EU states to take a more active role in the region, with options including the deployment of border monitors or a police mission.

    Diplomats said EU President Slovenia was studying sending a delegation at the level of state secretaries to Georgia as a gesture of solidarity, but a number of ex-communist EU states were insisting it should be a full-fledged ministerial visit.

    (Additional reporting in Moscow by James Kilner; Editing by Dominic Evans)

    Copyright © 2008 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

  • #2
    While I think there really is LITTLE possibility for this to break out into open conflict (Georgia is too small, Russia already has what it wants), does anyone thing that Georgia has a chance to actually give Russia a bloody nose? Personally, I think Georgia might prove to be a surprise. They have been training with US troops for a while now, and have been active in Iraq. Meanwhile, Russia has been beating the crap out of its conscripts. Could the advantage of geography and professionalism trump firepower, leading to a repeat of the Finland-Soviet war?
    The SWO

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by mweber24 View Post
      While I think there really is LITTLE possibility for this to break out into open conflict (Georgia is too small, Russia already has what it wants), does anyone thing that Georgia has a chance to actually give Russia a bloody nose? Personally, I think Georgia might prove to be a surprise. They have been training with US troops for a while now, and have been active in Iraq. Meanwhile, Russia has been beating the crap out of its conscripts. Could the advantage of geography and professionalism trump firepower, leading to a repeat of the Finland-Soviet war?
      I'd say that one tiny Repubic could give Russia as much trouble as another.

      Plus the facts that Shamil Basayev wouldn't help the russian army fight in Abkhazia this time around if he were even able to...and foriegn government property such as the US Embassy in Tblisi might hinder russia's scorched earth method of warfare.

      Comment


      • #4
        I read somewhere that the Russians sent some VDV troops, we just might see a conflict there and considering all the experience Russia has gained in the chechen wars it won't be a long campaign against a quite weak country like Georga , we'll see.

        Comment


        • #5
          Correct.


          Originally posted by mweber24 View Post
          does anyone thing that Georgia has a chance to actually give Russia a bloody nose? Personally, I think Georgia might prove to be a surprise. They have been training with US troops for a while now, and have been active in Iraq. Meanwhile, Russia has been beating the crap out of its conscripts. Could the advantage of geography and professionalism trump firepower, leading to a repeat of the Finland-Soviet war?
          Not Likely. Russia is still a very powerfull country and still has very capable conventional forces. Georgia does not stand a chance. Best way out for Georgia would be to try and resolve the issue diplomatically and via dialogue.

          Comment


          • #6
            I don’t thing the political leaders in Georgia. Is foolish enough to go war with Russia,
            Maybe their are

            Comment


            • #7
              Going by how things are shaping up, looks like they are. They are counting too much on Support from NATO countries and international opinion.

              Comment


              • #8
                I doubt that very much. No warning orders have been issued.

                Comment


                • #9
                  All rhetoric.

                  There is no chance of Georgia taking on Russia.

                  Unequal match.


                  "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

                  I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

                  HAKUNA MATATA

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Correct Sir, Georgia cannot take on Russia even with all the help that it can receive from NATO but otherway round is quite possible. Russia would not think too much about Georgia's closeness with US/NATO.

                    And in the context of the Question that was asked at the very start of this Thread, No, Georgia is not in a position to surprise Russia today and such an eventuality is not likely to happen in another 100 years as well

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      The Georgian president is a sick man. The only thing that we are worried about Georgia is that they may harm themselves.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        hey, long time no see , First! Glad to see you .
                        If i only was so smart yesterday as my wife is today

                        Minding your own biz is great virtue, but situation awareness saves lives - Dok

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          The same as me.
                          Hi, Braindead!

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            UN backs Georgia over drone claim

                            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, a 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.

                            Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

                            Georgia's air force commander shows footage that allegedly shows a Russian aircraft shooting down the Georgian plane

                            Georgia accused Moscow of an "act of international aggression" after the drone was shot down on 20 April.

                            It released video, which it said was recorded by the drone itself, of a fighter plane approaching it and then launching a missile in its direction. The picture then went dead.

                            A Russian air force spokesman said the claim was "nonsense", while Abkhaz rebels said they had downed the drone.

                            They have since claimed to have shot down several more.

                            But a report by UN monitors based in Abkhazia, released on Monday, said radar records showed the plane had flown into Russian airspace after the attack, and with no "compelling evidence to the contrary, this leads to the conclusion that the aircraft belonged to the Russian air force".

                            Russia's defence ministry rejected the UN's findings.

                            However, the report also criticised Georgia for operating reconnaissance flights over Abkhazia, which it said breached the terms of the ceasefire deal that ended the Abkhaz war of the early 1990s.

                            On the same day, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sent greetings to Georgia on its independence day, and expressed a wish for "constructive co-operation between our countries".

                            "I sincerely wish peace and prosperity to the Georgian people, with which we have century-old ties of friendship and spiritual kinship," his message said.
                            Story from BBC NEWS:
                            BBC NEWS | Europe | UN backs Georgia over drone claim

                            Published: 2008/05/26 12:36:23 GMT

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Unequal match.


                              "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

                              I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

                              HAKUNA MATATA

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X