http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090804/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_georgia

MOSCOW – Russian troops in the breakaway province of South Ossetia have been put on increased combat readiness amid rising tensions on the de facto border with Georgia, officials said Tuesday.

Andrei Nesterenko, the spokesman for Russia's Foreign Ministry, said the move was a response to Georgian "provocations" and meant to prevent more violence.

"The most important thing now is to prevent escalation and not to allow skirmishes to grow into bigger clashes," Nesterenko said.

The situation near South Ossetia has become increasingly tense as the first anniversary of the Russian-Georgian war approaches Friday, with Georgia and Russia blaming each other for provocations and intentions to resume fighting.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev discussed the "lessons of last year's Georgian crisis" in a telephone conversation late Tuesday, the Kremlin said in a statement. There was no elaboration.

Obama said during a recent summit in Moscow that Georgia's territorial integrity must be respected.

The August 2008 conflict erupted after escalating exchanges of fire between Georgia and Moscow-backed South Ossetian forces.

South Ossetia's separatists and Georgian authorities have accused each other of firing guns and mortar rounds on several occasions over the past few days.

The separatist leader, Eduard Kokoity, told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday that "there is a danger that August 2008 will be repeated."

"Today, Georgia's military is more combat-ready and has a stronger potential" than during the run-up to last year's conflict, Kokoity said.

In the latest incident, Monday night, South Ossetia's separatist authorities said three mortar rounds were fired into South Ossetia from Georgian-controlled territory. Georgian authorities denied the claim and accused separatists of firing rocket-propelled grenades at a Georgian checkpoint near South Ossetia. No one was hurt.

The European Union said it was concerned about mutual accusations of shelling and other incidents, but added that EU monitors in Georgia had seen no evidence confirming them so far.

"The EU urges all sides to refrain from any statement or action that may lead to increased tensions at this particularly sensitive time," the international organization said in a statement late Monday.

EU monitors are the only international ones remaining in Georgia, but they are blocked from traveling inside South Ossetia and Abkhazia. A EU-brokered truce ended the five-day August war between Georgia and Russia. Russia sent in thousands of troops and tanks that routed the Georgian military and drove deep into Georgia.

Georgian authorities claimed they had to launch the artillery barrage on Tskhinvali, the provincial capital, because Russian troops had moved into South Ossetia hours earlier. Russian officials denied this, and claimed the country acted to protect its peacekeepers and civilians there.

After the war, Russia recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another separatist region in Georgia, as independent nations and permanently deployed thousands of troops there.

The only other country to recognize the regions' independence is Nicaragua.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said in an interview with France's RTL radio broadcast Tuesday that there is a risk of a new conflict because Russia was putting constant pressure on Georgia. He said Georgia would not engage in conflict with Russia but would defend itself if necessary.

Meanwhile, a senior Russian diplomat voiced concern about what he said were U.S. plans to provide military assistance to Georgia.

"Washington is playing the key role in rearming the Georgian military machine," Grigory Karasin, a deputy foreign minister, said in comments reported Tuesday by the Interfax agency. "It would be in the interests of Georgian democracy ... to refuse to arm this country at all."

South Ossetia's Kokoity echoed Karasin's sentiments, saying countries that arm Georgia "are responsible for any further (military) developments."

The U.S. is discussing a Georgian request for $16 million in military aid this year, with most of the money intended for training and technical assistance. But Washington reacted coolly after Saakashvili told The Washington Post that Georgia was interested in acquiring heavy weapons for defensive purposes.

AP writer Mansur Mirovalev contributed from Tskhinvali, Georgia.


I hope that we give that money to Georgia.  We spend so much money for so many useless things, it could really be used there.  But that last line seems to be pretty cut and dry.   What do you suppose "heavy weapons" means.

Point your finger in any direction and there's something brewing....

Georgia won't receive any help from us, either.  We'll let Russia just run them over.

HH

I wish our MSM would cover more foreign stories.  You only hear about the BS in Georgia  practically after the tanks have already rolled in.

You are probably right.  We will send Hillary to Africa, and Bill to NK but let the Georgians fight on their own without even throwing them money.

Don't worry, Alabama's gonna kick their ass!

Damn I bet its those Atlantans isn't it?

Fixed.

+1 and the sad thing is that Russia is nothing but a joke now but their a lesser joke then the Georgians who will just run away like they did last time.

They were looking at US air defense systems and fighters IIRC.

I bet Atlanta will burn again

aw crap not again

Hey I dont like it but thats what they did.  

Since obama is so good at foreign relations I wonder if he is going to send Hillary to Atlanta to settle this mess.

They can burn Atlanta and anything inside the perimeter for all I care.

They step outside the perimeter; and it's on.

If they can find their way on Peachtree St. that is.....

I also read the Obanation administration reacted Cooley to this idea.

Just globalists trying to take your eye off the healthcare debate stirring in the US.

Propaganda

I find it amusing all the countries we have backed in the past with far better weapons who later used them against us.  Examples being Iraq, and Afghanistan.   Yet we will not back an ally who is trying to become more western friendly.

Truth




 

Run away or tactical retreat?  They were pretty overwhealmed if I remember correctly.  The numbers were bad in their favor.

Eventually, Russia will march directly to the south all the way to Megiddo ...Then poof!

The minute they lost their air space the Goergian soldiers became cannon fodder. Not to mention Russia barely dipped into their Armor and still had staggering advantages on the ground.





 

The sad thing is ANY Western power today could curbstomp the Russians in a conventional war right now. The Georgians are just no match though.



 

Prediction -

Overseas turmoil will result in domestic American violence when an already wary populous confronts their own government with the mistakes that have been made.

This thing will probably end up with 300 posts before it's done.

It won't be long before the internationalists will only have to hang shiny and bright colored objects up to achieve their  goals.

As much as I hate the way things are being run currently, I just do not see it happening as things sit right now.

I think isolationism has bitten us pretty hard in the past before. We are apart of this world, and what goes on beyond our borders DOES effect us. Sometimes we do have to act on things taking place far away.



 

I am not sure I am following you correctly.  I am more of an isolationist more then anything.  But when you see all the things we stick our hands in when we are not needed from my view point. Is helping Georgia out with some money, training, or arms that big of a deal?

Bring it!

 Their leadership was in hiding,there was a breakdown in battlefield leadership and unit cohesion and what could have been a fighting withdrawl turned into a full blown rout.In many ways,it was similar to the ARVN's debacled retreat from the central highlands.

 The Georgians had reasonable parity when it came to numbers and actually had better equipement but they did not have either the leadership or motivation to fight.They lost virtually all of their armor and a good part of their effective air defense by simply abandoning it and fleeing.It would be much,much worse for the Georgians this time.

 Putin knows Obama is a chump so I don't have any doubts that unless Saakashvili is out of office within the near future,they'll have him gone one way or the other.

Well we have been to some extent for their help in Iraq but it's just a drop in the bucket. It's really a David vs Goliath story sadly I don't see anything saving Goergia from the Soviets short of a large allied force. Hell some of the Goergians i worked with didn't even have functioning AK's and these where front line soldiers.
 

The problem is that the Georgian military is not ready; however, Saakashvili thinks it is ready. Even the trainers that we sent over there admitted that they were not ready for the 2008 war.

You mean Atlantis really exists!

Yes, it actually is.  We've pissed Russia off these past few years.  They made a pretty decent concession to us in the latest meeting Obama had with Medvedev and we gave them nothing in return.  Joe Biden running around in Eastern Europe talking trash about them didn't help either.  Russia has the ability to make our life... difficult.  The most pressing concern is that they'll begin rearming Iran, including finally selling Iran some S-300 air defense systems.

HH