August 8:
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has urged Russia to halt aircraft and missile attacks in South Ossetia and withdraw combat forces from Georgian territory, the Associated Press reports. Rice said that the United States wants Russia to respect Georgian sovereignty and agree to international mediation with Tbilisi.
Sen. John McCain has said Russia should “immediately and unconditionally cease its military operations and withdraw all forces from sovereign Georgian territory,” Washingtonpost.com reports. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee said the U.S. should convene a UN Security Council emergency session to call on Russia to reverse course. The Democrats’ presumptive presidential nominee, Sen. Barack Obama, condemned “the outbreak of violence in Georgia” and called on Georgia and Russia to “show restraint” and “avoid an escalation to full-scale war,” Reuters reports. “Georgia’s territorial integrity must be respected,” Obama said, adding that the U.S., UN Security Council and other parties should help find a peaceful resolution.
August 9:
Russian planes have staged bombing raids across Georgia, Agence France-Presse reports. Air raids targeted the port of Poti and the city of Gori, where inhabitants said scores of people were killed. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili told the BBC that Russia’s actions are aimed at the “annihilation of a democracy on their borders,” while Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Russia launched its operation to “force the Georgian side into peace.” Medvedev accused Georgia of causing thousands of “victims.”
President George W. Bush has called on Russia to stop bombing Georgian forces, AFP reports “Georgia is a sovereign nation and its territorial integrity must be respected,” Bush told reporters in Beijing, where he is attending the Olympic Games. “We have urged an immediate halt to the violence and a stand-down by all troops.” Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rejected calls by the international community for a ceasefire. According to Bloomberg News, Lavrov said Russia reserves the right to attack any part of Georgia used for the offensive in South Ossetia.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who has left the Beijing Olympics and flown to North Ossetia, the Russian region adjacent to South Ossetia, has said he doubts South Ossetia can be convinced to remain part of Georgia given the Georgian government’s “criminal” actions. NEWSru.com reports that Putin flew to North Ossetia to discuss ways to aid refugees from South Ossetia. According to NTV television, Putin called Georgia’s actions “genocide of the Ossetian people.”
August 11:
U.S. presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama have called for an international diplomatic response to pressure Russia to leave Georgia and halt escalating violence, Bloomberg News reports. McCain said the crisis is of “urgent moral and strategic importance to the United States,” while Obama said “there is no possible justification for these attacks.” Both said Russia is jeopardizing its relationships with the rest of the world.
August 12:
President Mikhail Saakashvilli has said that he accepts a cease-fire plan with Russia brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, ABC News reports. “It is an agreement of principles... and I think we have full coincidence of principles,” Saakashvili told a joint news conference with Sarkozy in Tbilisi. Both men said changes made in the plan were approved by President Dmitry Medvedev and included removing a reference to talks on South Ossetia’s future status.
Medvedev, meanwhile, has called a halt to the Russian assault. “The security of our peacekeepers and civilians has been restored,” he told Russian television. “The aggressor has been punished and suffered very significant losses.” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia will not deal with Saakashvili and that the Georgian president should step down.
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