[dehai-news] (NYT) US Is Set to Announce $1 Billion in Aid for Georgia


New Message Reply About this list Date view Thread view Subject view Author view

From: Yemane Natnael (yemane_natnael@yahoo.com)
Date: Wed Sep 03 2008 - 11:36:08 EDT


U.S. to Unveil $1 Billion Aid Package to Repair Georgia

By STEVEN LEE MYERS

September 3, 2008

BAKU, Azerbaijan — The Bush administration plans to announce a $1
billion package of aid to help rebuild Georgia after its rout by
Russian forces last month, administration officials said on Wednesday,
as Vice President Dick Cheney arrived in the region to signal support for Georgia and other countries neighboring Russia.

The aid — along with Mr. Cheney’s visit — is sure to increase
tensions with Russia, whose leaders have accused the United States of
stoking the conflict with Georgia over its two separatist regions, by
providing weapons and training to the Georgians. President Dmitri A. Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin have also complained that humanitarian supplies delivered by the American Navy and Air Force since Russian forces routed Georgian forces and occupied parts of the country were a disguise for delivering new weapons.
 Administration officials have dismissed those accusations as baseless.
The
aid package, which is expected to include money for rebuilding
Georgia’s infrastructure and its economy, is scheduled to be detailed
in Washington later on Wednesday by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the official said. President Bush is also expected to release a statement.
 It
is not clear whether the package will include any direct military
support, which officials have acknowledged they are considering. The
aid package reflects an intensification of the administration’s support
for Georgia, though President Bush and his senior advisors have yet to
settle on any punitive actions against Russia.
Mr. Cheney arrived
on Wednesday in Azerbaijan on the first of three stops in the region
the Russians consider their “near abroad” in what one of his aides last
week described as an effort to bolster countries in the face of their
more assertive neighbor. Mr. Cheney is scheduled to visit Georgia on
Thursday, followed by Ukraine.
While Mr. Cheney’s plans to visit
Azerbaijan and Georgia were made before Russia’s military operation in
Georgia, the trip took on added significance following the conflict,
which began on the night of Aug. 7, when Georgian forces tried to seize
control of South Ossetia, only to be driven back when Russian forces
poured into the country.
 Although a ceasefire ended the
fighting, Russian forces have still not withdrawn from parts of
Georgian territory near South Ossetia and another breakaway region,
Abkhazia. Russia last week recognized both as independent countries, a
move that has failed to win any international backing.
Azerbaijan,
like Georgia, is a former Soviet republic that has sought closer ties
to the West and the United States, and it is considered a vital
crossroads for oil and gas from the Caspian Sea.
 Underscoring
the point, Mr. Cheney’s first meetings here in Baku were with
representatives of two international oil companies: William Schrader of
BP Azerbaijan and Robert Satmalchi of Chevron, according to a
spokeswoman, Megan M. Mitchell. She said they discussed “their
assessments of the energy situation in Azerbaijan and the broader
Caspian region — especially in light of Russia’s recent military
actions in Georgia.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/world/europe/04cheney.html?ref=europe

         ----[This List to be used for Eritrea Related News Only]----


New Message Reply About this list Date view Thread view Subject view Author view

webmaster
© Copyright DEHAI-Eritrea OnLine, 1993-2008
All rights reserved