Peace plan agreed for Georgia
2008-08-13 07:41
Moscow - Georgia and Russia agreed in
principle to an EU-brokered peace plan over South Ossetia on
Wednesday as the US showed disapproval of Moscow's attacks on
its neighbour by cancelling a joint naval exercise.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his Georgian
counterpart Mikheil Saakashvili agreed late on Tuesday to a
modified version of a six-point peace plan endorsed by Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev.
"It is a political document. It 'is an agreement of
principles...and I think we have full coincidence of
principles," Saakashvili told a joint news conference with
Sarkozy.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Moscow's
military operations in Georgia had jeopardised Russia's
integration into international institutions.
"There are any number of opportunities for Russia to reverse
course and to demonstrate that it is trying to behave according
to 21st century principles," she said.
"But I can assure you that Russia's international reputation
and what role Russia can play in the international community is
very much at stake here.
In its first concrete action of protest, the United States
on Tuesday cancelled a Pacific Ocean naval exercise set for next
week involving Russia, Britain and France.
"There is no way in good conscience that we could proceed
with a joint naval exercise given the state of this crisis," a
senior US defence official said on the condition of anonymity
as no official announcement had been made.
Earlier on Tuesday Medvedev ordered a halt to military
operations in Georgia ahead of Sarkozy's arrival in support of
the international peace plan.
But Georgia cast doubt on Moscow's announcement and US
officials could not confirm the Russian attacks had stopped.
Sarkozy arrived in both capitals with a peace plan as a way
to resolve the conflict that erupted last week when Tbilisi
tried to retake by force the pro-Russian region of South
Ossetia. Moscow responded with a strong counter-offensive.
He said the text would be presented to a meeting of European
Union foreign ministers on Wednesday so they could throw their
weight behind it. It would then provide a basis for a UN
Security Council resolution.
"We do not yet have a peace deal, we have a provisional
cessation of hostilities. But this is significant progress,"
Sarkozy told a joint press conference with Medvedev in Moscow.
- Reuters