Deleted due to tiresome repetition using multiple nyms. Not worth chewing on. |
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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Russia Says 2 Regions in Georgia Are Independent |
| 2008-08-28 |
| President Dmitry Medvedev, addressing the nation in a live television broadcast, said he signed decrees recognizing South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states to protect residents of the regions from Georgian attacks, which he described as "genocide." "Yeah, those Georgians do that stuff all the time. The place used to be crawling with Veps and Malamutes and Urdmurts -- you never see them anymore. We're putting a stop to that!" "This is not an easy choice to make, but it represents the only possibility to save human lives," Medvedev said, arguing that Moscow had shown "restraint and patience" for years in the face of Georgian "provocations." The Russian decision was not likely to change the situation on the ground, as both territories have enjoyed de facto autonomy from Georgia for more than a decade. But it amounted to a bold reassertion of Russian power in a region that Moscow considers part of its sphere of influence and a pointed challenge to President Bush, who had warned the Kremlin not to recognize the territories the day before. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #10 Oh yea, the famous Rusian peacemaking |
| Posted by: Spike Uniter 2008-08-28 20:58 |
#9
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| Posted by: Peace Lover aka a lot of other nyms today 2008-08-28 19:40 |
| #8 We ought to encourage the Chinese to hand out passports in far eastern Russia. They outnumber the Russians there. What's Vladivostok's name in Chinese (And Sakhalin in Japanese) |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-08-28 19:16 |
| #7 Even the ChiComs aren't buying the official Russian line. Sure, the Russkis have boots on the ground, but they seem to be standing in a giant pile of poo. |
| Posted by: Slats Glans2659 2008-08-28 12:00 |
| #6 The Russkies have been handing out Russian passports to people from those regions for years. They aren't independent - they're Russian now, de facto if not de jure. And so goes the old Russian game of absorbing the margins. |
| Posted by: Spot 2008-08-28 11:09 |
| #5 Problem is if the West started handing out passports, the entire region would empty out in no time. |
| Posted by: ed 2008-08-28 08:22 |
| #4 So lets declare Chechnya and Dagestan independent for them. Two can play at the independent regions game, and russia has way, WAY more regions to lose than Georgia. We could get every separatist in the russian region fired up if that's how they want to play it. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2008-08-28 08:05 |
| #3 Scott R, Putin will point to our presence in Iraq as justification for his actions in Georgia. I'm not saying they're equivalent - they're not. But he will use that as the thin pretext he needs to gain support of people who haven't liked our actions since 9/11. Putin is an advanced black belt in judo and he plays geopolitics the same way. |
| Posted by: lotp 2008-08-28 05:47 |
| #2 Fine - the get your troops the hell out of Georgia proper. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-08-28 00:55 |
| #1 Then I guess Russia will withdraw from these new states so as not to infringe upon their sovereignty. |
| Posted by: Scott R 2008-08-28 00:40 |