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Putin criticizes US over Georgia crisis

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sharply criticized the US yesterday, saying its support for Georgia in the conflict over the separatist region South Ossetia displayed a cynical Cold War mentality.

Putin, shown speaking on state television, singled out the US, saying Washington was helping to bring Georgian troops from Iraq to fight at home.

In an emotional speech to senior government officials, Putin said some US politicians still had a Cold War mentality.

“It is a shame that some of our partners are not helping us but, essentially, are hindering us,” Putin said. “I mean ... the transfer by the United States of a Georgian contingent in Iraq with military transport planes practically to the conflict zone.”

“The very scale of this cynicism is astonishing — the attempt to turn white into black, black into white and to adeptly portray victims of aggression as aggressors and place the responsibility for the consequences of the aggression on the victims,” he said.

Conflict between Russia and Georgia turned to violent clashes on Thursday when Georgia suddenly sent forces to retake South Ossetia, a pro-Russian province that threw off Georgian rule in the 1990s.

Moscow responded with a counter-attack by its vastly bigger forces that drove Georgian troops out of the devastated South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali on Sunday.

Despite international calls for peace, both sides continued to fight yesterday.

Georgia shelled Tskhinvali early in the day despite its ceasefire declaration and Tbilisi said Russian jets had bombed Georgian targets again overnight.

Georgian officials confirmed the return of almost all of Georgia’s 2,000-strong troop contingent from Iraq and their immediate deployment just south of South Ossetia.

“The major part of our contingent in Iraq has come back,” said Nika Rurua of the Georgian parliament’s defense committee.

“Almost all of them have been sent to the area close to the conflict zone,” he said.

Putin said Russia would take its peacekeeping mission in South Ossetia to a “logical conclusion.”

Meanwhile, Georgia’s ambassador to the EU said yesterday the bloc needed to make clear to Russia there would be consequences for its ties with the bloc if it continues military action in Georgia.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili accused Moscow yesterday of trying to overthrow his government as Russian troops pushed into two separatist regions, but Moscow said it had no intention of invading. Georgian ambassador Salome Samadashvili said a stronger response was needed from the EU, which will hold an emergency foreign ministers meeting on Georgia tomorrow.

She also said Georgia was paying the price for NATO’s failure to set a date for accession when it announced in April that the country would one day become a member.

Samadashvili, who at one point broke down in tears, said Georgia could not survive on its own.

“We hope the international community will move to some kind of action to protect our statehood,” she said. “Either we find a way to respond to it together or we have to also live with the decision that we will face a different world tomorrow.”

The European Commission called on Russia yesterday to halt all military activity on Georgian territory immediately and NATO accused Moscow of using excessive force.

The Red Cross said it was getting increasing reports of civilian casualties from South Ossetia and beyond, and said it was preparing to fly in medical supplies.

“The humanitarian situation remains very serious,” said Dominique Liengme, the International Committee of the Red Cross’ (ICRC) head of delegation in Georgia.

With violence spreading beyond South Ossetia, the ICRC said it was receiving reports of an increasing number of civilian casualties.

Also See: Oil near US$117 on Georgian war
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