Bill Howard
Fri, 12 Apr 2002 19:29:21 -0700
HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- Global and Local Analysis & Action ... http://www.egroups.com/group/Communist-Internet ] [Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ] . . ----- Original Message ----- From: Rick Rozoff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, April 12, 2002 2:40 PM Subject: Backed By US And NATO, Georgia Threatens Russia With Ultimatum [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- [With U.S. troops now training and commanding Georgian forces, the possibility exists for American and Russian troops to come into armed conflict for the first time since the Russian Civil War eighty years ago. No need to point how how grave a situation this is.] Agence France-Presse Friday April 12, 8:33 PM Georgia demands Russia withdraw troops from disputed zone Georgia's Defence Minister David Tevzadze called for the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops deployed by helicopter in a disputed territory in the breakaway zone of Abkhazia. "We have given the Russians an ultimatum: pull out of the Kodori gorge by this evening," Tevzadze was quoted by state television as saying Friday. Eight Russian helicopters landed in the Georgian-held village of Azhara, deploying around 100 troops and escalating tension between Tbilisi and Moscow, which backed the Abkhaz side in a separatist war a decade ago. The arrival of the helicopters, four military and four civilian, spread panic in Azhara in the Kodori gorge region, Georgian lawmaker Iveri Chelidze said in remarks broadcast on television. But the Russian defence ministry officially denied the Georgian reports of an armed landing in Azhara, saying that its peacekeeping troops were merely setting up an agreed observer post two kilometres (one mile) west of the village. The Georgian defence ministry immediately placed its forces on a state of military alert, while parliament prepared to issue a statement denouncing Russia for its aggressive action, state television reported. Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze had decided to fly to the restive region after first dispatching Tevzadze to "take charge of the situation," a presidential spokesman said. "If the Russians do not give us an explanation, they will be able to say goodbye to their peacekeeping operation (in Abkhazia) for good," Shevardnadze told journalists before leaving Tbilisi. Shevardnadze's envoy to Kodori, Emzar Kvitsiani, said around 80 Russian paratroopers had landed in Azhara, adding: "The situation could deteriorate unless peacekeeping forces take the necessary steps." Kvitsiani, who cited unconfirmed reports that 40 armed Georgians had seized one of the helicopters, said Tbilisi had never agreed to the deployment of Russian troops in Azhar. The Kodori region straddling government-held territory and the breakaway republic of Abkhazia has been occupied by Georgian troops following a flare-up of tension there. However, Tbilisi was meant to withdraw its forces by April 10 under the terms of a deal signed earlier this month between the Georgian and Abkhaz authorities. Chelidze responded Friday to Abkhaz complaints that not all the Georgian units had withdrawn from the disputed area by saying that some troops had been delayed by poor weather. Abkhazia has claimed de facto independence from Georgia, fighting a short but bitter war in the early 1990s in which it was supported by Moscow. A ceasefire was brokered in 1994, but little progress has been made since in resolving the dispute. Moscow deploys a peacekeeping force in Abkhazia but has repeatedly been accused by Tbilisi of interfering in the dispute. The latest tension between the two former Soviet states comes as 200 US troops are expected in Georgia to help track down al-Qaeda terrorists allegedly hiding out in the remote Pankisi gorge, which borders Chechnya. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax http://taxes.yahoo.com/ --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================