European Report to Blame Both Sides in Georgia War

[pampango]

Source: New York Times

MOSCOW — After a lengthy inquiry, investigators commissioned by the European Union are expected to conclude that Georgia triggered last year’s war with Russia by attacking separatists in South Ossetia, rejecting Tbilisi’s explanation that the attack was defensive, according to an official familiar with the commission’s work.

But the official said the report is expected to balance this conclusion with an equally weighty one: If Georgia fired the first shot, Russia created and exploited the conditions that led to war. For years running up to the conflict, Russia encouraged separatist movements in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, distributed Russian passports in the enclaves and beefed up its military capability.

Investigators have closely guarded the report’s contents, which will be presented to the European Union’s Council of Ministers at noon on Wednesday and then released to the public. A spokesman for the mission refused to discuss any of its contents before the Wednesday release.

By blaming both countries, the report seems unlikely to resolve the debate over which bears more overall responsibility. Most countries have already taken a firm position on the enclaves, which only Russia, Nicaragua and Venezuela have recognized as sovereign nations. Europe and the United States have uniformly criticized the Kremlin for changing Georgia’s borders by force, and for violating the “six-point agreement,” a French-brokered ceasefire that required Russia to withdraw its troops to pre-war positions.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/world/europe/29georgia.html?hp

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Release is scheduled for Wednesday. It should be an interesting read.

When Russia passes Russian passports to residents in other countries, are they given to ethnic Russians who grew up in these other countries when they were part of the Soviet Union?

[14thColony]

1. Generally that's the case

South Ossetia is a little bit different though. The Ossetians are not ethnically Russian, but they have strong ties with Russia -- in fact North Ossetia is part of Russia. The Ossetians have historically seen Russia as their protectors.

[moondust]

2. Finally.

It's been so long without news that I was afraid they had abandoned this investigation.

What I'd really like to know is what exactly U.S. troops in Georgia under Bush's command were doing during the run-up and actual battle. Were they training Georgian troops to attack the separatists and start a war with Russia? Did they participate in any battles?

In all the hysteria at the time lots of "experts" and others were scarily predicting that Russia would seize all of Georgia and later go after Ukraine and other former Soviet republics. I must have fell asleep during that part because it ain't happenin'. Where are those "experts" now and will the media call them out on their bullshit?

[amandabeech]

3. Yes, I'd like to know, too.

It seems as though the Georgian mess was the last gasp of the ancien regime.

Every time I criticize Obama, and it is mostly about economic issues, I have to remind myself how relieved I am that it is he and not McCain who is in the White House, especially now with Iranian missiles flying.

Bomb-bomb-bomb, bomb-bomb-Iran, indeed!

[TheLastMohican]

4. The Georgian FUBAR was all about

electing McCain in US presidential elections.
The russian response was predicted.
What was not predicted is that Russians will go that far and actually capture a lot of US equipment with sensitive data and technologies.
Condi went apeshit and Bolton had a sissy fit.

Russia could care less what this report says, it is all about "real-politik" now. EU should not have ever meddled in the Kosovo issue, then it would have more legitimacy pointing fingers at other nations and mentoring them on diplomatic relations.
Since Kosovo is a "unique case", why South Osetia and Abhazia are not so "unique"? I fail to understand that.

[BlueMTexpat]

9. I agree that the Georgian action was supposed to show McCain's so-called strengths

and Georgia's ruler is a favorite of the Cheney crowd, who were egging him on and promising him god knows what.
The Cheney-Rice-Bolton crowd has never understood the "New" Russia; they're still locked into their Cold War mentalities.
Even now.

[Captain Hilts]

12. "Sissy" fit? Hissy fit. nt

[DavidDvorkin]

5. Rival DU report blames Georgia and the CIA.

[kpete]

6. Report: Georgia Triggered War With Russia

Source: Wall Street Journal

Report: Georgia Triggered War With Russia

By MARC CHAMPION

A 9-month international investigation into the 2008 war in the Caucasus concludes that Georgia triggered the war, but that Russia had prepared the ground, broke international law by invading Georgia as a whole and that Russia-backed South Ossetian militias conducted ethnic cleansing of Georgian civilians, according to a copy of the conclusions reviewed by the Wall Street Journal.

The conflict, which briefly brought the U.S. and Russia into Cold War-style confrontation, left some 850 people dead, forced more than 100,000 people from their homes and has left Russian troops in occupation of two territories in Georgia, the report said.

Compiled for the European Union by Swiss diplomat Heidi Taglivini, the report found that while there was evidence that regular Russian troops as well as volunteers and mercenaries had entered South Ossetia in Georgia before the start of the conflict on Aug. 7, no evidence was found of the full-scale Russian invasion to which Georgia said it was responding.

Answering the question of whether Georgia's decision to shell the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, on Aug. 7 was justifiable under international law, the report concludes: "It was not."

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125431087432152321.html?mod=djemalertNEWS

[Captain Hilts]

7. There's not a cut and dry good guy/bad guy in this one. Let's say Russia 'over-reacted'. nt

[pampango]

10. Indeed no good guy/bad guy. From the Financial Times: "Russia and Georgia ‘share blame for war’"

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/830d20ec-adc5-11de-bb8a-00144feabdc0.html

"An unjustified Georgian attack on South Ossetia sparked the five-day war last August, says the report. Heidi Tagliavini, the Swiss diplomat heading the enquiry, says in an introductory statement: “In the Mission´s view, it was Georgia which triggered off the war when it attacked Tskhinvali with heavy artillery on the night of 7 to 8 August 2008.”"

"Ms Tagliavini is consistently careful in her judgements. She says: “While the onus of having actually triggered off the war lies with the Georgian side, the Russian side, too, carries the blame for a substantial number of violations of international law.

“These include, even prior to the armed conflict, the mass conferral of Russian citizenship to a majority of the population living in South Ossetia and in Abkhazia. It also includes, in terms of an additional violation of international law, the military action by the Russian armed forces on Georgian territory, far beyond the needs of a proportionate defence of Russian Peace Keepers in Tskhinvali who had come under the Georgian attack.”"

"The report rejects outright Russian allegations that Georgia was carrying out a genocide against the South Ossetian population. But it accepts Tbilisi’s charges that ethnic cleansing took place against ethnic Georgians driven from South Ossetia. Ms Tagliavini says there were also “other violations of international humanitarian law which must be attributed to all sides”."

[Captain Hilts]

11. This area is a mess for a lot of reasons: racial. religious, legacies of Stalinism, communism, etc.

It's a real cauldron.

We placed an idiot in charge of Georgia. That's a fact.

[MarjorieG]

8. And will always feel McCain & Co helped encourage for sake of his campaign.