Russia accuses NATO of encouraging further Georgian aggression
(NSI News Source Info) MOSCOW - September 18, 2008: Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that NATO's drive to strengthen ties with Georgia is effectively encouraging the Tbilisi regime to carry out new acts of aggression in the future.
Georgia's goal of NATO membership and U.S. support for Georgia's military have been major sources of tension with Russia in recent years. Russia accused NATO of rearming Georgia after last month's conflict over South Ossetia, and has threatened to fully sever ties with the Western alliance.
"We can only regard the alliance's moves to strengthen relations with Georgia as encouraging Tbilisi to carry out more reckless acts," the ministry said, following a two-day visit to Tbilisi by a top-level NATO delegation.
NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, heading a delegation of envoys from all 26 members of the military alliance, arrived in Georgia on Monday on a two-day visit to discuss plans for Tbilisi's possible NATO membership, and met with President Mikheil Saakashvili.
The Russian ministry said: "Given the current circumstances, we consider the alliance's meetings in Tbilisi to be ill-timed and not in the interests of stabilizing the situation in the region."
The five-day conflict between Russia and Georgia followed Georgia's August 8 artillery attack on South Ossetia. Two weeks after the conclusion of Moscow's military operation to "force Georgia to peace," Russia recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another separatist republic, as independent states.
Most Western powers condemned both the recognition of the rebel regions and Russia's "disproportionate" response to the Georgian attack. Russia-NATO ties were frozen after the conflict.
The ministry statement said that "instead of drawing serious conclusions from the failed attempt of [Georgian President] Mikheil Saakashvili to solve the long-running conflict through use of force, NATO once again showed its support for its campaign of disinformation, and made promises to restore the military potential of this country."
"The anti-Russian sentiment" behind the NATO meetings in Georgia "is obvious," the ministry said.
Russia regrets that Scheffer did not pay a visit to Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, to get "a more objective picture of the events in early August," the statement said.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Russia accuses NATO of encouraging further Georgian aggression
Russia accuses NATO of encouraging further Georgian aggression
(NSI News Source Info) MOSCOW - September 18, 2008: Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that NATO's drive to strengthen ties with Georgia is effectively encouraging the Tbilisi regime to carry out new acts of aggression in the future.
Georgia's goal of NATO membership and U.S. support for Georgia's military have been major sources of tension with Russia in recent years. Russia accused NATO of rearming Georgia after last month's conflict over South Ossetia, and has threatened to fully sever ties with the Western alliance.
"We can only regard the alliance's moves to strengthen relations with Georgia as encouraging Tbilisi to carry out more reckless acts," the ministry said, following a two-day visit to Tbilisi by a top-level NATO delegation.
NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, heading a delegation of envoys from all 26 members of the military alliance, arrived in Georgia on Monday on a two-day visit to discuss plans for Tbilisi's possible NATO membership, and met with President Mikheil Saakashvili.
The Russian ministry said: "Given the current circumstances, we consider the alliance's meetings in Tbilisi to be ill-timed and not in the interests of stabilizing the situation in the region."
The five-day conflict between Russia and Georgia followed Georgia's August 8 artillery attack on South Ossetia. Two weeks after the conclusion of Moscow's military operation to "force Georgia to peace," Russia recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another separatist republic, as independent states.
Most Western powers condemned both the recognition of the rebel regions and Russia's "disproportionate" response to the Georgian attack. Russia-NATO ties were frozen after the conflict.
The ministry statement said that "instead of drawing serious conclusions from the failed attempt of [Georgian President] Mikheil Saakashvili to solve the long-running conflict through use of force, NATO once again showed its support for its campaign of disinformation, and made promises to restore the military potential of this country."
"The anti-Russian sentiment" behind the NATO meetings in Georgia "is obvious," the ministry said.
Russia regrets that Scheffer did not pay a visit to Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, to get "a more objective picture of the events in early August," the statement said.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment