 Video
The European Commission on Monday (August 11) called on Russia to halt immediately all military activity on Georgian territory and accused Moscow of being responsible for the entering of its troops on Georgian territory. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili accused Moscow of trying to overthrow his government as Russian troops pushed into two separatist regions, but Moscow said it had no intention of invading. The EU executive was extremely concerned about the violence, EU executive spokeswoman Krisztina Nagy said, renewing calls for an immediate end to hostilities and a swift return to negotiations. "We consider that the latest developments, such as the crossing of the Georgian borders by Russian troops, change the dimension of the conflict. We therefore call upon Russia to stop immediately all military activity on Georgian territory," Nagy said. Nagy said the Commission backed diplomatic efforts to resolve the current crisis "in full respect for Georgia's territorial integrity and sovereignty" but it has stopped short of warning of any effect on ties with Russia, on which the bloc relies as a key energy supplier. EU foreign ministers will hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday (August 13), when they will hear from French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who is on a mediation mission to Georgia representing the French EU presidency. Kouchner has proposed a plan to end the conflict between Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia that calls for an immediate ceasefire, the withdrawal of forces to positions held before Aug. 6 with some form of international presence, and the respect of Georgian territorial integrity. Speaking in Brussels, Georgia's EU ambassador Salome Samadashvili called on the international community for help. Samadashvili, who soon after the beginning of the news conference broke down in tears and briefly left the room, said Georgia could not cannot survive on its own. "We know that we cannot survive on our own and we hope that international community will move to some sort of action to protect our statehood because if there was any doubt up till now, I hope that no one has any doubt anymore that we are, we are facing a full, full-blown operation directed at abolishing the sovereignty of our country and this is something which we have lived through in the twenties and we hope that the world will not let this happen again," Samadashvili said. Samadashvili also said a stronger response was needed from the EU. She said the European Union needs to make clear to Russia there will be consequences for its ties with the bloc if it continues military action in Georgia. "I believe that they need to, to, as I said, show that there will be a political cost for this action in terms of the relationship of the Russian federation with its Western partners," Samadashvili said. On Tuesday (August 12), Georgian Foreign Minister Ekaterine Tkeshelashvili will meet NATO ambassadors in Brussels to discuss the crisis. NATO leaders angered Moscow by declaring in April that Georgia, a former part of the Soviet Union, would one day be a member of the U.S.-led military alliance. Meanwhile, members of the Georgian community living in Brussels gathered in front of the Russian mission to the EU to protest at the violence. Separated by a large road, two hundreds people waved Georgian flags and held banners criticising Russia's president Dmitry Medvedev and prime minister Vladimir Putin, nicknamed 'the dangerous twins', and asking for Europe's help.
Rating: (0 ratings) |
Views: 292 |
Added: Aug 11, 2008 |
| Category: News |
|
|
|
Tags: news, nuvu, ibctoday, bbc, cbc, reuters, ap, asia news international, mediascrape, nepal, romania, indonesia, nigeria, zambia, canada, united states, america, south, north, east, west, greece, china, japan, turkey, iran, israel, palestine, chile, brazil, peru, south africa, politic, election, protest, party, parliament, congress, senate
|