Russia remains in Georgian city
2008-08-15 14:14
Gori - Russian troops on Friday allowed some humanitarian supplies into the strategic city of Gori but continued their blockade, raising doubts about Russian intentions in the war-battered country.
Meanwhile, a flurry of international diplomacy was set in motion, even as regional tensions escalated dramatically over a missile defence deal between the US and Poland - with a top Russian general saying the pact exposes Poland to attack.
Gori, about 75km west of the capital Tbilisi, is key to when - or if - Russia will honour the terms of a ceasefire that calls for both sides to pull their forces back to the positions they held before fighting broke out last week in the separatist region of South Ossetia.
Russian forces also were in several other cities deep in Georgia, officials said.
By holding Gori, Russian forces effectively cut the country in half because the city sits along Georgia's only significant east-west highway. Russian military vehicles were blocking the eastern road into the city on Friday, although they allowed in one Georgia bus filled with loaves of bread.
"It's quiet there, but now there are problems with food," said Alexander Lomaia, the head of Georgia's national security council. He said he was able to tour the city during the night.
Georgian interior ministry spokesperson Shota Utiashvili said on Friday that there are no Russian troops in the city of Kutaisi, Georgia's second-largest city, despite reports they were headed in that direction overnight. However, he and Lomaia both said that troops remain in the Black Sea port city of Poti.
Rice in Georgia
Diplomats focused on finalising the fragile truce between the two nations and clearing the way for Russian withdrawal. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Georgia on Friday to press President Mikhail Saakashvili to sign the deal. It would require major Georgian concessions, but Rice said the US would never ask Georgia to agree to something that isn't in its best interests.
The plan calls for the immediate withdrawal of Russian combat troops from Georgia.
"This is not an agreement about the future of Abkhazia and the future of South Ossetia," Rice said. "This is about getting Russian troops out."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel was also travelling to Russia to see President Dmitry Medvedev with plans to discuss the war.
As the West pressed for peace, Russian Gen Anatoly Nogovitsyn was quoted by Interfax News Agency on Friday as saying that by accepting a US missile defence battery Poland "is exposing itself to a strike".
On the outskirts of Tbilisi, Georgia stepped up aid efforts at a camp for displaced people.
"We're in a difficult situation, but our government is helping us," said Zhozhona Gogidze, a displaced person. "You know I am very ashamed, we don't have a kopeck left and I'm so hungry."
Confusion
Frustrations were mounting in the capital over confusion about the ceasefire deal.
"We need to understand what the international agreement is," said Archil Rezhabidze. "All these agreements are agreed only to be broken later. We should not trust them for one minute."
In a report released on Friday, Human Rights Watch said it has collected evidence of Russian warplanes using cluster bomb against civilian areas in Georgia. The international rights group urged Russia to stop using the weapons, which more than 100 nations have agreed to outlaw.
The group said Russian military aircraft killed at least 11 civilians and injured dozens in the town of Gori and the village of Ruisi. Russia's defence ministry denied the claim, the Itar-Tass news agency reported, citing an unnamed official who complained that the organisation gathered the information from biased witnesses.
- AP