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Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree recognizing Georgia’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states, a day after the Russian parliament passed resolutions to this effect, ignoring protests from the West.
He ordered the foreign ministry to start negotiations with officials of both the regions on establishing diplomatic relations with Russia, and “draft the corresponding documents.”
Moscow’s political move, which came immediately after European Union (EU) pledged support for Georgia’s territorial integrity, has intensified tensions between Russia and the West over the conflict in the Caucasus, which began with Georgian forces invading the two pro-Russian regions, and Russia stepping in.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is in the West Bank city of Ramallah as part of a Middle East tour, said the decision was “regrettable.”
U.S. President George W Bush Monday urged Russia’s leadership to honor its commitments and not recognize the separatist regions. European leaders fiercely criticized the Russian parliament’s action.
Germany, Britain and France also condemned the move.
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“Taking into consideration the will of the people and guided by the UN Charter of 1970 … and other basic international law, I have signed a decree recognizing Abkhazia and South Ossetia,” Medvedev said in a nationally-televised statement. He said he had no other choice but to protect the lives of civilians.
Medvedev said Georgia’s attack on South Ossetia accelerated the breakaway regions’ long-pending request to Russia to recognize their independence.
“On the night of August 8th, Tbilisi had a choice: Georgian President Saakashvili opted for genocide … With this choice, he wiped out all hope of a peaceful coexistence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia under one government,” Medvedev said in the statement.
Russia’s military says it is bewildered by the build-up of NATO’s naval force in the Black Sea – and scoffed at claims the warships were delivering humanitarian aid. Deputy Chief of the Russian General Staff, Colonel General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, told a media briefing that there are currently ten NATO warships with cruise missiles in the area, and eight more are expected to arrive there shortly.
U.S. Navy destroyer McFaul (AFP Photo)
“These ships are very seriously armed,” Nogovitsyn said. “As far as cruise missiles are concerned, they are strategic arms and have a range of 2,500 km. The Black Sea is just a pool for them.”
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"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."
