From: Yemane Natnael (yemane_natnael@yahoo.com)
Date: Tue Aug 26 2008 - 09:42:55 EDT
Russia Recognizes Independence of Georgian Areas
By CLIFFORD J. LEVY
August 26, 2008
MOSCOW — Russia on Tuesday formally recognized the independence of
South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the two enclaves in Georgia whose
separatist aspirations stirred the fierce conflict this month. The
step, seen as highly provocative in the West, drew immediate sharp
condemnation.
Acting a day after Russia’s Parliament unanimously supported the enclaves’ request to secede, President Dmitri A. Medvedev announced he had signed decrees recognizing their independence and blamed the Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili, for causing the bloodshed and forcing Moscow’s hand..
He
said it was clear that the warring sides could never again live
together, and South Ossetia and Abkhazia had to be independent.
“This
is not an easy choice, but it is the only way to save the lives of
people,” Mr. Medvedev said in a nationally televised address.
“It
stands quite clear now: a peaceful resolution of the conflict was not
part of Tbilisi’s plan,” he said, referring to the capital of Georgia.
“The Georgian leadership was methodically preparing for war, while the
political and material support provided by their foreign guardians only
served to reinforce the perception of their own impunity.”
Few
countries are likely to join Russia in extending recognition to the two
regions. The move is expected to increase strains between Russia and
the West. The United States and its allies have called for the
preservation of Georgia’s territorial integrity.
European
reaction was rapid and sharp, with Germany, Britain and France all
criticizing the Russian move. The Georgian government characterized the
Kremlin’s action as a direct challenge to the United States and its
European allies.
“This is not just about Georgia, but about
relations between Russia and the West,” the reintegration minister,
Temuri Yakobashvili, said.
Russia’s stock market, which had
already dropped in response to the conflict in Georgia, fell sharply
after Mr. Medvedev’s announcement, with the benchmark RTS Index falling
nearly 6 percent.
In recognizing the two territories as
independent, Russia was making good on warnings it issued after Western
countries recognized the independence of Kosovo, where NATO
helped an ethnic Albanian population wrest independence from Serbia.
Russia has few allies closer than Serbia, and the 78-day American-led
bombing campaign in 1999 added to a building sense of Russian
humiliation.
As president, Vladimir V. Putin
— now the Russian prime minister — tried for years to prevent Kosovo
from declaring its independence from Serbia. When the Kosovars went
ahead, with strong American and European support, last February, Russia
seemed ready to respond in kind.
Mr. Medvedev referred to
Kosovo during his statement Tuesday, saying Russia had previously
“displayed calm and patience” in its dealings with Georgia.
“We
repeatedly called for returning to the negotiating table and did not
deviate from this position of ours even after the unilateral
proclamation of Kosovo’s independence,” he said.
“However, our
persistent proposals to the Georgian side to conclude agreements with
Abkhazia and South Ossetia on the nonuse of force remained unanswered.
Regrettably, they were ignored also by NATO and even at the United Nations.”
European
diplomats had urged Russia not to formally recognize South Ossetia and
Abkhazia, and governments responded angrily when that request was
ignored.
“This is in violation of the principle of territorial
integrity, which is one of the basic principles of international law
and this is therefore absolutely unacceptable, and I think the whole of
the European Union will come forward in stating this very clearly,” the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, said Tuesday during a trip to Estonia.
A
spokeswoman for the British Foreign Office said, “We reject this
categorically and reaffirm Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial
integrity,” according to Reuters.
France, as the current
president of the European Union, was consulting its partners about
adopting a declaration condemning Moscow’s action, the French foreign
minister, Bernard Kouchner, said.
Germany
is playing a key role as mediator between the states of Western Europe
that have called for a moderate approach to Moscow over the crisis, and
those from Central and Eastern Europe and Scandinavia that have called
for more assertive responses to Russia’s steps in Georgia.
“The
crisis in Georgia has changed the situation in Europe unfortunately in
a way that runs counter to our values and convictions,” Mrs. Merkel
said Tuesday. She said it was important “to stand beside Ukraine and
Georgia,” but added that she “is still for keeping the lines of
communication open.”
Nicholas Kulish contributed reporting from Tallinn, Estonia, and Steven Erlanger from Paris.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/world/europe/27russia.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin
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