By Philip P. Pan and Jonathan Finer
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
MOSCOW, Aug. 26 -- Russia recognized the independence of two breakaway provinces of Georgia over the strong objections of the United States and much of Europe on Tuesday, escalating tensions in the region as Russian troops dug in on Georgian soil and U.S. warships prepared to deliver humanitarian aid to an occupied port city.
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."
"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.
Georgia's pro-Western president, Mikheil Saakashvili, said Russia was trying to "militarily annex" a piece of his nation. "The Russian Federation is seeking to validate the use of violence, direct military aggression, and ethnic cleansing to forcibly change the borders of a neighboring state," he said in a statement. "This is a challenge for the entire world, not just Georgia."
The reaction in the West was swift and stern. In a written statement, Bush urged Russia to "reconsider this irresponsible decision," which he said violated U.N. resolutions as well as the French-brokered cease-fire agreement that ended the fighting between Russia and Georgia. "Russia's action only exacerbates tensions and complicates diplomatic negotiations," he said.
Speaking to reporters in Crawford, Tex., where Bush is finishing a vacation, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said any attempt by Russia to seek recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia at the United Nations would be "dead on arrival."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the Russian move was "absolutely unacceptable," and the British foreign secretary, David Miliband, said he was working to "ensure the widest possible coalition against Russian aggression in Georgia." France, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, also denounced the decision and scheduled an emergency summit of European nations in Brussels next week to discuss a response.
"Nothing scares us, including the prospect of a cold war, but we don't want it," Medvedev said in a televised interview. "In this situation, everything depends on the position of our partners."
Russia has withdrawn its troops from much of the territory they occupied during a five-day rout of the smaller Georgian army. But Russian soldiers continue to patrol and man checkpoints in what Russia calls "security zones" in undisputed Georgian territory, including the Black Sea port city of Poti. Georgia and its Western allies say their presence violates cease-fire terms.
In a conference call with foreign journalists Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the troop presence was necessary to serve as an "early warning system" against further Georgian attacks and was permissible under a clause of the cease-fire agreement that allowed Russia to take "additional security measures." He said Russia welcomed international observers in these areas and was willing to discuss an "international regime" that would take the place of its forces. But Lavrov asserted that Russian troops would stay until then, "no matter how long it takes."
Georgian officials said that after Medvedev announced his decision to recognize the separatist provinces, Russian troops encircled at least six villages, forced Georgian police to leave, and then allowed Ossetian militiamen to evict ethnic Georgian residents and burn down their homes, apparently as part of their drive to create a security zone outside South Ossetia. Shota Utiashvili, a spokesman for Georgia's Interior Ministry, said about 2,000 people were forced from their homes.
The allegation could not be independently confirmed. But local residents reported that Russian forces returned to towns they had previously withdrawn from and described a confrontation between Russian troops and Georgian police in a village about 35 miles northwest of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.
Georgian police had established control over Mosabruni, an ethnically mixed town far from the original conflict zone, after Russian forces withdrew last week, residents said. But the Russian soldiers returned Monday and asked the Georgian authorities to leave, residents said.
As the discussions progressed, two Russian attack helicopters arrived and began circling above the town. Eventually the police retreated and the Russians established a checkpoint.
"I think the Georgians were lost and we helped them find the way back," Russian Col. Anatoly Tarasov said as his soldiers manned the checkpoint. "There will be a peacekeeper post from now on."
Georgian residents of the rural town, which has not been considered part of South Ossetia since Soviet times, said they would leave if the Russian troops remained.
"I slept quietly when the Georgian police were here, but I know the Russians won't let me live my life," said Nodar Razmadze, 60, who had already begun packing his belongings in case he needed to leave in a hurry for one of the nearby Georgian villages. He said he hid American and Turkish humanitarian rations behind the door of his farmhouse because he was afraid Russian troops would take them.
Russian forces also returned to the town of Akhalgori, directly north of Mosabruni. Since Friday, the town had been held by Ossetian militia fighters who back the Russians. On Tuesday, Russian soldiers manned the checkpoint outside town, while militia fighters patrolled inhabited areas, perched on the back of armored vehicles.
"I am afraid that the war is coming here," said Guja Koraev, 43, an Ossetian resident of Akhalgori. "All I want is to live without guns and armored cars in our streets."
In the capitals of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, however, the Russian announcement was greeted with joy. Russian television broadcast footage of armed men firing their weapons into the air in celebration.
A senior Russian military official, meanwhile, expressed concern about what he said was a buildup of 18 warships from NATO countries in the neighboring Black Sea. "The heightened activity of NATO ships in the Black Sea perplexes us," Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn told reporters in Moscow.
A NATO spokeswoman said five warships are conducting scheduled NATO exercises, and the United States has said its own vessels are delivering humanitarian aid to Georgia. But in a subtle challenge to Russia, one of the ships is scheduled on Wednesday to deliver aid to the port city of Poti, which continues to be patrolled by Russian troops.
Asked whether the U.S. ship would be allowed to dock, Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, replied: "Yes, why not? The port is operational."
But Lavrov questioned the U.S. decision to use military ships to deliver aid.
"Normally battleships do not deliver aid, and if it is battleship diplomacy, or rather battleship humanitarian diplomacy, of course it does not make the situation more stable," he said. "But this is the choice of those who deliver aid. . . . I would hope people who deliver humanitarian assistance would be choosy in selecting the means of delivery."
Finer reported from Mosabruni. Staff writers Tara Bahrampour in Tbilisi and Dan Eggen in Washington contributed to this report.
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