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http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,3-267176,00.html The Times (London) April 15, 2002 Russians withdraw after stand-off >From Alice Lagnado in Moscow -[Shevardnadze] threatened to expel the 1,500 Russian peacekeepers on duty in Abkhazia.... -Russia and Georgia are locked in bitter rivalry that has been exacerbated by American intervention in Georgia, which is traditionally seen as being in Moscow�s backyard. -While the Georgian Government commonly blames its woes on Moscow, most Georgians accuse President Shevardnadze of bringing endemic crime and corruption to the country. HEAVILY armed Russian troops were abandoning a remote gorge in the former Soviet state of Georgia last night after their arrival prompted a fierce stand-off that threatened a shaky peace in the neighbouring separatist region of Abkhazia. President Shevardnadze of Georgia flew to the Kodori Gorge on the border with Abkhazia at the weekend to stop an �attempt at aggression� by 80 Russian soldiers who had arrived there on Friday. He threatened to expel the 1,500 Russian peacekeepers on duty in Abkhazia, which they have patrolled since separatists expelled Georgian troops after a war for independence in 1992-93. Russian commanders insisted that they had secured agreement to enter the gorge to protect Russian and United Nations observers working there, but, nevertheless, started to pull out over the weekend. Russia and Georgia are locked in bitter rivalry that has been exacerbated by American intervention in Georgia, which is traditionally seen as being in Moscow�s backyard. Georgia, once the playground of Communist Party bosses, has become one of the poorest and most unstable of the former Soviet states, with ethnic conflicts simmering in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. While the Georgian Government commonly blames its woes on Moscow, most Georgians accuse President Shevardnadze of bringing endemic crime and corruption to the country. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax http://taxes.yahoo.com/ --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] 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 ==^================================================================
