Love the country, but Lithuania's president would be well adviced to STFU

Georgian ally Lithuania slams Russia over ceasefire breaches

(VILNIUS) - Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus Thursday accused Russia of failing to honour a ceasefire in Georgia and said he was deeply concerned by continued fighting there.

Adamkus, a staunch ally of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, pointed to military action in the flashpoint Georgian city of Gori.

"This causes great concern as it is not clear whose orders the Russian troops are executing and why Russia does not honour the declared ceasefire," he said in a statement.

A ceasefire brokered earlier this week by France, which is at the helm of the 27-member European Union, formally ended five days of fighting between Russian and Georgian forces.

The Baltic state of Lithuania has been pressing for a get-tough Western stance towards Russia over its offensive, which began last week after Tbilisi's troops attacked a pro-Russian breakaway region of Georgia to try to bring it back under government control.

Like Georgia, Lithuania was part of the Soviet Union until 1991 but in contrast with the troubled Caucasus republic it is now firmly anchored in the West, having joined NATO and the EU in 2004.

EU members have had trouble forging a common line on the conflict, with some members, including France and Germany, wary of ruining ties with a resurgent -- and energy rich -- Russia, while some central and eastern European members, including Lithuania, want a harder line.

Along with the leaders of ex-communist EU and NATO members Estonia, Latvia and Poland, Adamkus travelled to Tbilisi this week in a show of support for Saakashvili.

Adamkus' office said Thursday that the president believed it was essential for EU members and other Western states to deploy "a vast mission of peacekeepers, observers and other monitors who will record the illegal actions by Russian troops."

"Georgia's territorial integrity and the withdrawal of the occupation army must be the main objectives to be pursued by the international community after military actions are discontinued," it said.

Adamkus also expressed concern about Russian comments that ex-communist states would pay for supporting Georgia.

Russia's ambassador to Latvia, Alexander Veshnyakov, has warned them against criticising the Kremlin, saying "serious mistakes can be made that have to be paid for a long time afterwards."

On Thursday, Lithuania's Foreign Minister Petras Vaitiekunas called the comments "worrying" and said he was taking them "very seriously".

Original article posted here.

Medvedev falls for West's bluff, then immediately made to look like a fool with presidents from Ukraine, Poliand, Latvia and Lithuania laughing

Presidents attend Georgia rally after cease-fire deal

The presidents of Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland showed support for Georgia by appearing on stage with Georgia's president in front of a large crowd in Tbilisi. Earlier, the Russian and French presidents announced a six-point plan for settling the conflict in Georgia.

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- The Russian and French presidents announced Tuesday a six-point plan of principles for settling the immediate conflict in Georgia but stopped short of tackling the issues that sparked the violence.

Nicolas Sarkozy, left, and Dmitry Medvedev outline the deal and the problems ahead.

"We have not achieved peace yet, but we have achieved a provisional cease-fire of hostilities," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said.

The points include Russian agreements to conclude all military operations, return Russian armed forces to the line preceding the beginning of operations and not use force again in Georgia.

In return, Georgia would return its armed forces to their normal and permanent locations.

Both sides would provide free access for humanitarian assistance; and international consideration of the issues of South Ossetia and Abkhazia would be undertaken.

"All we need to do now is to stop suffering, stop the death of people," Sarkozy said. Stopping the fighting "is the most important objective."

He emphasized that the meeting with Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev was not intended to solve all of the issues, such as Georgia's territorial integrity and South Ossetia's desire for independence.

"There are bigger problems relating to South Ossetia that we cannot resolve here," Sarkozy said, who arrived in Moscow as current head of the European Union.

Sarkozy said he and Medvedev agreed that Georgia is an independent country and that Russia has no intention of annexing it. But Medvedev also said "sovereignty is based on the will of the people" and "territorial integrity can be demonstrated by the actual facts on the ground."

Medvedev said, "I think that these are some very good principles in order to resolve the problem which has arisen from this very dramatic situation and these principles can be used by Georgia and South Ossetia."

Medvedev said he had ordered an end to military operations against Georgia, but Tbilisi reported more attacks after the statement was made. Watch Georgia's reaction to halt in fighting »

Medvedev said, "the aggressor has been punished and has incurred very significant losses. Its armed forces are disorganized."

Tens of thousands of Georgians converged on the capital, Tbilisi, for a day of rallies. In the evening they waved French, U.S. and Georgian flags at a rally where President Mikhail Saakashvili was joined by the leaders of Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Lativia. Watch the rally »

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said, "I wanted to make very clear that the United States stands for the territorial integrity of Georgia, for the sovereignty of Georgia; that we support its democratically elected government and people, and are reviewing options for humanitarian and reconstruction assistance to Georgia. But the most important thing right now is that these military operations need to stop."

U.S. officials said they were considering flying aid from bases in Germany to Georgia. There was also consideration being given to sending U.S. Navy ships into the Black Sea to conduct humanitarian relief missions.

Violence has raged since Thursday, when Georgia launched a crackdown on separatist fighters in autonomous South Ossetia, where most people have long supported independence.

Russia, which supports the separatists, responded Friday, sending tanks across its border into South Ossetia. The conflict quickly spread to parts of Georgia and to Abkhazia, another separatist region.

Russia said it wanted to stop Georgian military actions against its peacekeepers in the breakaway regions.

The Georgian government said that despite Medvedev's announcement, Russian warplanes struck two Georgian villages and bombed an ambulance outside the breakaway province of South Ossetia. Watch more on the fighting in South Ossetia »

Medvedev warned in his announcement that "when pockets of resistance and other aggressive actions occur," a decision concerning destruction had to be made.

Earlier, a Georgian Interior Ministry official said Russian bombs had hit one of the three pipelines carrying oil to the Black Sea port of Poti. There was no oil in the pipeline at the time. Interactive map: See how far the Russians have advanced »

UK-based energy giant BP later said it had shut down three oil pipelines in the region as a "precautionary measure" linked to the security situation. None of its pipelines had been attacked.

A Dutch cameraman was killed Tuesday morning in an incident in Gori, the Dutch Foreign Ministry confirmed. He was identified as Stan Storimans of RTL TV. The correspondent who accompanied him was also injured.

One Russian diplomat said that up to 2,000 people had died in the conflict. Up to 100,000 people are thought to have been displaced by the violence, which has left South Ossetia's capital of Tskhinvali in ruins.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday that his country wanted a demilitarized zone to be created in Georgian territory before a cease-fire could take effect. Watch Lavrov speak about Georgia »

Lavrov said that it would be best if Saakashvili stepped down as Georgia's president, something he has not offered to do, but that Russia was not demanding his resignation.

Original article posted here.

Wandering into trouble

Poland, Baltics condemn Russia over Georgia

WARSAW, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Poland and the Baltic states came together on Saturday to issue a harsh condemnation of Russia for what they described as aggression in Georgia and urged NATO and the European Union to oppose it.

The former Soviet republics of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia and Poland, a client state of Moscow under communism, are wary of a resurgent Russia using its muscle to again dominate its neighbours.

"The European Union and NATO must take up the initiative and oppose the spread of imperialist and revisionist policy in the east of Europe," said the statement from the presidents of the four countries.

The appeal followed Russia's bombing of Georgia in the conflict over South Ossetia, where Russian troops are backing separatists fighting a Georgian attempt to bring the territory under control. Georgia is another former Soviet state.

Moscow accuses Georgia of aggression and says it is protecting its citizens in South Ossetia.

The statement from Poland and the Baltic countries said they would use every available means to ensure that Moscow's "aggression against a small state in Europe is not passed over in silence or with meaningless statements equating the victims with the perpetrators."

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has said the conflict with the Russians could have consequences elsewhere.

"They have claims to Crimea, in Ukraine, they have claims to some parts of the Baltic countries, they have claims to some parts of eastern Europe. If you know, they have a free hand and free rights here in Georgia everybody will be unsafe,"

Original article posted here.