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| Europe |
| Georgia 'close to war' with Russia |
| 2008-05-06 |
| GEORGIA is "very close" to a war with Russia, a Georgian minister said today, citing Moscow's decision to send extra troops to the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia. "We literally have to avert war,'' Georgian State Minister for Issues of Reintegration, Temur Iakobashvili, said. 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. Russia has said the troop build-up is needed to counter what it says are Georgian plans for an attack on breakaway Abkhazia and has accused Tbilisi of trying to suck the West into a war - both of which are allegations that ex-Soviet Georgia rejects. An extra Russian contingent began arriving in Abkhazia last week. Moscow has not said how many would be added but said the total would remain within the 3000 limit allowed under a United Nations-brokered ceasefire agreement signed in 1994. Diplomats expect the reinforcement to be of the order of 1200. Georgia, a vital energy transit route in the Caucasus, has angered Russia by seeking membership of NATO. Mr Iakobashvili said Georgia was urging the European Union to take a more active role in reducing tensions in the region, with options including participating in border control or policing operations. However, he said no decisions on a bigger EU role had been taken during talks in Brussels with ambassadors from the 27 member states of the bloc. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #4 PRAVDA > ABKHAZIA: WHAT THIS COMMOTION IS ALL ABOUT. Artic indics that ABKHAZIA IS SECOND IN WORLD ONLY TO THE MIDEAST WHERE A MAJOR WAR OR WORLD WAR COULD BREAK OUT??? Abkhazia was arbitarily incorporated into Georgia under the USSR, but artic claims was never historically a part of Georgia. And EDUARD SHEV opinion on this??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-05-06 20:24 |
| #3 me too kelly |
| Posted by: sinse 2008-05-06 19:26 |
| #2 "It may be that the race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong--but that is the way to bet." --Damon Runyan |
| Posted by: Steve White 2008-05-06 16:28 |
| #1 While my heart would be with Georgia my money would be on the big guy |
| Posted by: Kelly 2008-05-06 12:06 |