TBILISI, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Georgian President
Mikhail Saakashvili said on Friday that he has signed the peace plan to settle
the conflict between his country and its breakaway region of South Ossetia.
Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili speaks during a news briefing in Tbilisi after talks with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Aug. 15, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
Saakashvili made the statement at a press conference
after talks with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
He said the main goals now were to cease fire and
start peacekeeping operations in the conflict zones, expressing hope that this
temporary agreement would eventually bring about a final resolution of the
conflict.
Rice, for her part, said the signature on the plan by
Saakashvili meant fire must be ceased immediately.
The plan implied restoration of the state of affairs
that existed before Georgia launched its attack on South Ossetia a week ago and
that the regular Russian troops that have been moved into Georgia must
unconditionally leave the country, Rice was quoted by the Interfax news agency
as saying.
The leaders of Georgia's breakaway regions of South
Ossetia and Abkhazia signed on Thursday the peace plan, which was endorsed by
the presidents of Russia and France. The Kremlin said Friday that Russia will
put its signature under the document only after Georgia signs it.
In addition, Saakashvili said that Russian forces
remained in a large part of Georgia's territory and Russian armored vehicles
were between the town of Gori and the capital Tbilisi.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaks during a news briefing in
Tbilisi after her talks with Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili
Aug. 15, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
The Georgian president said his next step would be to
replace Russian peacekeepers in the conflict zone with an international
contingent.
During a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel
earlier in the day in Sochi, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said his country
is not against deploying international peacekeeping force in the Caucasus, but
"Abkhazia and South Ossetia trusted only Russian troops."
In response to Medvedev's doubt that Abkhazia and
South Ossetia would live in the same state with Georgians after recent events,
Saakashvili said there would be no compromise and that both Abkhazia and South
Ossetia would remain part of Georgia.
MOSCOW, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev said Friday his country expects Georgia to give its written consent to
the principles for settling the conflict between Georgia and its breakaway
region of South Ossetia, the Interfax news agency reported.
"Now these principles should be accepted by Georgia
and need to be followed, with guarantees from Russia, the Council of Europe, and
the OSCE (the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe). I hope this
will happen in the near future. We expect relevant information," Medvedev was
quoted by Interfax as saying. Full story
MOSCOW, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- A senior Russian general
said Thursday that Russia questioned cargoes airlifted by the United States to
Georgia were really humanitarian aid, Russian news agencies reported.
"U.S. military transport aircraft are reported to
have been airlifting some humanitarian cargoes to Tbilisi airport," Col.
Gen.Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy head of Russia's General Staff, was quoted by the
RIA Novosti news agency as saying at a press conference. Full story
MOSCOW, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev said Thursday that Moscow will support any decision made by Georgia's
breakaway regions South Ossetia and Abkhazia on their status.
"The position of the Russian Federation is unchanged.
We shall support any decision the people of South Ossetia and Abkhazia will make
in conformity with the United Nations Charter, the international convention of
1966, and the Helsinki act on security and cooperation in Europe," Medvedev was
quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying. Full story
MOSCOW, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday slammed the statement made by U.S. President George
W. Bush on the conflict between Russia and Georgia, saying facts mentioned in
the speech are untrue, Russian news agencies reported.
"I listened to George Bush's statement -- and was
surprised -- the facts he cited are untrue," Lavrov was quoted by the RIA
Novosti news agency as saying. He flatly denied the claims of the U.S. president
that Russian troops had blocked Georgia's Black Seaport of Poti. Full story
TBILISI, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Georgia's parliament voted
Thursday to withdraw from three agreements concerning its membership of the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), news reports reaching here from Russia
said.
The resolution, unanimously supported by all the
deputies at the emergency session, means that Georgia is quitting the CIS,
according to the source. Full story
KIEV, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Viktor
Yushchenko and his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush talked over phone on Thursday
to discuss situations in Georgia, the Ukrainian presidential office said in a
statement.
"The talk focuses on Georgian situations, and
measures that need to be taken to halt the conflict," said the statement.
Full story
BRUSSELS, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) is
ready to send observers to Georgia as announced after an emergency meeting of
the foreign ministers here on Wednesday, despite failure to forge a united
stance on how to respond to Russia's military action in South Ossetia. Full story
WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W.
Bush said Wednesday that he is sending Secretary of State Rice to France and
Georgia to discuss efforts to halt the conflicts between Georgia and Russia.
In a brief statement in the White House, Bush also
demanded Russian troops now in Georgia must withdraw and said he is concerned
that Russia might not have halted military operations in Georgia. Full story
