Translated material
Fucked up on principles
The Russian President decided to stop the war
Yesterday afternoon, following a meeting with the Minister of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev decided to complete the operation to force Georgia to peace. “I have decided to complete the operation to force the Georgian authorities to peace,” he said. “The goal has been achieved. The safety of our peacekeeping forces and the civilian population has been restored. The aggressor has been punished and suffered significant losses. Its armed forces are disorganized.” This was the first important news from the Kremlin yesterday.The second followed the results of negotiations with the President of the French Presidency of the European Union, Nicolas Sarkozy, who arrived in Moscow - during them six principles were developed for resolving this armed conflict.
“The presidents of Russia and France support six principles for resolving conflicts in Georgia,” Dmitry Medvedev said following yesterday’s negotiations with his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy. The first principle is not to resort to the use of force. The second is to finally stop all hostilities. The third is to ensure free access to humanitarian aid. Fourth, the Georgian armed forces return to their places of permanent deployment. Fifth - the Russian armed forces are withdrawn to the line preceding the start of hostilities. Until international mechanisms are created, Russian peacekeeping forces in the unrecognized republics are taking additional security measures. The sixth is the beginning of an international discussion on the future status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and ways to ensure their lasting security.
While the first five principles related to the cessation of hostilities may not give rise to serious disagreements, the interpretation of the sixth principle on the beginning of an international discussion of the issue of the future status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia is clearly a matter of puzzlement.
“The question of the future status reflects a clear understanding of the impossibility of maintaining the status quo,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after the talks. Indeed, there is no clause on preserving the territorial integrity of Georgia among the developed principles. Nicolas Sarkozy touched upon this issue with the utmost caution, noting that the principle of sovereignty is broader than the concept of territorial integrity. “Either we are trying to resolve all the issues now and there is nothing we can do, or we are trying to go for the long term,” he said.
According to Mr. Sarkozy, Russia's desire to respect Georgia's sovereignty is obvious. Dmitry Medvedev, in turn, proposed allowing the Abkhaz and Ossetian people to decide for themselves where and how they want to live. And he reminded me of Kosovo.
Russian-French negotiations lasted three hours longer than planned. But when the presidents finally came out to the waiting journalists, the satisfaction of people who had completely fulfilled their duty shone on their faces.
However, agreements with Russia are only part of the way. From the Kremlin, Nicolas Sarkozy immediately went to the airport and flew to Tbilisi, where he had similar negotiations with Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili. “There are long negotiations ahead, but the night is long,” is how Mr. Sarkozy described them. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, meanwhile, explained that the actions of the Russian leadership to stop Georgia’s aggression in South Ossetia were understood by the French side. “If the Georgian side does not accept the principles put forward, we will be forced to take other measures to prevent a possible repetition of the outrageous situation that arose as a result of Georgian aggression,” the head of the Foreign Ministry said. “Our peacekeepers continue to perform their functions and will continue to perform them, because they are a key factor in ensuring security in the Caucasus,” the Russian president emphasized in turn.
“If Russia had another opportunity to respond to Georgia’s aggression against South Ossetia,” Mr. Medvedev noted, “we would have done so. When several thousand citizens are killed, the state must respond adequately. When international law is violated, the state and the entire international community must also respond adequately. And not as sluggishly as it often happens in our lives.” And he added that “the history of the last five days has shown that this response has been the most effective and consistent. If we had not done this, the number of deaths would have been many times higher."
At the same time, Dmitry Medvedev, almost for the first time, resorted to rhetoric that was previously characteristic, as it was believed, only of his predecessor Vladimir Putin: “Thugs differ from normal people in that when they smell blood, it is very difficult to stop them. We have to resort to surgical methods.” By the way, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin also took part in the negotiations, although not from the very beginning.
The Russian president spoke no less harshly on the topic of genocide. “The problem of ethnic cleansing exists, and we have firmly raised this issue and will continue to raise it with those who are responsible for it. Although some of our partners ask not to raise this issue, including in confidential conversations. They are probably embarrassed,” said Mr. Medvedev. In turn, the French leader proposed the Hague Tribunal as a solution to the problem. “Speaking of ethnic cleansing, genocide, there are international authorities, international criminal institutions, and if one of the parties to the conflict would like to bring the perpetrator to trial in these institutions, in fact, this is its right,” the French President said.
When asked by journalists how Mr. Sarkozy assessed Mikheil Saakashvili’s speeches against the backdrop of the European Union flag, he peacefully noted that although Georgia is not a member of the EU, he cannot prohibit anyone from planting the European flag. “The main thing is that this does not discredit Europe,” Mr. Medvedev interrupted his colleague.
Late yesterday evening, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke on the phone with President Dmitry Medvedev. “The Prime Minister of Great Britain, having given a positive assessment of the agreements reached in Moscow, expressed hope that their implementation will lead to a resolution of the conflict, and the ceasefire will become long-term,” the press service of the Russian President said in a statement. “The Prime Minister of Great Britain expressed hope that that the population of South Ossetia will be provided with international humanitarian assistance, and announced his readiness to take part in providing such assistance."
Today in Russia, by decision of the President, a day of mourning has been declared in connection with the humanitarian catastrophe in South Ossetia. “On the day of mourning throughout the country, lower state flags and invite cultural institutions and television and radio companies to cancel entertainment events,” the decree says. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, in turn, declared three days of mourning for the civilians and military killed “during Russian aggression.”