September 1 - Summit Day

In Brussels, the Emergency Summit of the European Union of the Big Seven countries is being prepared with a joint statement in which Russia recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the USA and Great Britain said that Russia's actions violate the principle of the territorial integrity of Georgia, as well as a resolution of the UN Security Council, which regulates relations between Georgia, Abkhazia and Southern Ossetia.

"Russia's decision calls into question its commitment to peace and security in the Caucasus. We regret the disproportionate use of military force in Georgia and the ongoing occupation of this country by Russian troops," the statement said.

The situation in Georgia, we recall, will be discussed on September 1 in Brussels at the Emergency Summit of the European Union, convened at the initiative of Sarkozy. As it became known on Wednesday evening, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili will not come to this summit. According to some reports, France spoke out against his invitation. Saakashvili, however, claims that he was still not going to attend a meeting because of a fear that Russia would not let him go back.

Meanwhile, as reported yesterday by Reuters, citing Foreign Minister Bernard Kushner, the issue of sanctions against Russia will be discussed at the EU summit. According to the French diplomat, this step is associated with the one -sided recognition of Russia Abkhazia and South Ossetia. True, after some time, the French Foreign Ministry issued a statement stating that Bernard Kushner did not at all propose imposing any sanctions against Russia. “The minister had in mind that if someone considers sanctions, then France, as the EU chairman, will seek a common position of the European Union,” the statement said.

In turn, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that he had not heard anything about allegedly preparing sanctions against Russia. "In my opinion, this is a manifestation of complete confusion from the fact that the favorite of some Western capitals did not live up to expectations," Lavrov said.

The Georgian issue was discussed yesterday and Vienna at an emergency meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council. The Georgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Tkeshelashvili, who was present at it, called on the state - members of the OSCE immediately take measures against Russia, which, according to her, not only threatens to violate, but already violates the agreements reached. She also turned to the UN Security Council with an appeal to apply article 7 of the UN Charter, which provides for the introduction of economic sanctions against the aggressor state. According to her, now you need to think about effective measures to answer new reality.

The overall position of the OSCE yesterday was expressed in Moscow by the Commissioner of the Council of Europe on Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg. According to him, the Georgian-Ossetian conflict led to a humanitarian disaster. "I was in Georgia, I was in Tskhinvali and Vladikavkaz and I can say that this war led to a humanitarian catastrophe," he said after a meeting with the speaker of the Federation Council Sergei Mironov. The Hammarberg report, following the results of a trip to the Caucasus, will be published next week. As Sergey Mironov told reporters, Hammarberg also said in an interview with him that difficult political discussions about the situation in the South Caucasus were brewing in Europe. The Russian politician, in turn, asked Hammarberg the question of who began all this. To which Hammarberg, according to Mironov, replied only that the answer was obvious to him.

08/28/2008 / Ivan Sotnikov, the material was published in the newspaper No. 163 dated 08.29.2008.