Georgia: U.S. Warns Russia
CNN reports the United States has warned Russia that attacks on Georgia will not go “unanswered.” As the Georgian government reports bombing raids on major towns and cities in the country proper, the United States, however, stopped short of threatening military action.
“My administration has been engaged with both sides of this trying to get a ceasefire,” Bush told NBC’s Bob Costas in an interview in Beijing, China, where the president has attended Olympic events.
Bush was filmed speaking to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during Friday’s opening ceremonies and said Sunday that he “was firm with Vladimir Putin” and that “this violence is unacceptable.”
Violence has continued to rage between Russia and the western ally since Thursday, when Georgia launched an operation to crack down on separatists in South Ossetia territory. Russia said it wanted to protect its peacekeepers already in South Ossetia following ceasefires in years past. But Georgia called it a full-on invasion.
And while Russia has accused Georgia of a genocidal plot to cleanse the region of ethnic Ossetians loyal to Russia, Georgia accuses Russia of executing a long-planned war with the aim of taking control of the region — including a key pipeline that carries Asian oil to Black Sea ports.
[…]
Georgia withdrew its forces Sunday and offered a ceasefire, which Russia refused.
“The vice president told President Saakashvili that Russian aggression must not go unanswered, and that its continuation would have serious consequences for its relations with the United States, as well as the broader international community,” McBride said.
2 Comments
Jump to comment form | comments rss [?] | trackback uri [?]