In a press conference, President Bush denounced Russia aggression against Georgia saying that “Russia has invaded a sovereign neighboring state and threatens a democratic government elected by its people. Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century”.
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili and his Russian counterpart Dimitry Medvedev signed a truce just Monday and the UN met for the fifth time in as many days on the conflict.
Despite a top Russian general telling ABC's Clarissa Ward that Russian troops had no intentions to attack Georgia, armed Russian troops poured into western Georgia. Ward's team left the town of Gori in western Georgia shortly before Russian troops arrived. Ward reported that the streets were almost deserted, except for Georgian soldiers on armored personnel carriers screaming for foreign journalists to get out of town before the Russian bombardment began in earnest.
So what did Bush say to Putin, whom he formerly called a friend, but now seems to be turning his back on the US and the western world in general? “I've expressed my grave concern about the disproportionate response of Russia and that we strongly condemn the bombing outside of South Osettia. I was very firm with Vladimir Putin”, suggesting that Putin still has the ball in his court, even though he has handed over the reigns of the Russian presidency to Medvedev.
Vice-President Cheney offered a bolder statement: “Russian aggression must not go unanswered and that its continuation would have serious consequences for its relations with the United States”.
Responding to comments by Bush and Cheney, Putin replied that “It is a shame that some of our partners are not helping us, but essentially are hindering us. I mean…the transfer of the United States of a Georgian contingent in Iraq with military transport planes practically to the combat 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”.
Saakashvili fired back at Putin saying that “Russia made clear (that) the goal of this operation is the regime change in Georgia, change of a democratically elected government. It is quite clear what is happening. We are in the process of an invasion, occupation and annihilation of an independent democratic country”, adding that “As we speak, there are people getting shot, killed”. Essentially, Saakashvili is accusing the Russian government of sabotage. Saakashvili called the Russian incursion a “pre-planned, cold-blooded, meditated murder of a small country”.
So why did Russia attack Georgia? Some of the reasons may include: the US is pushing for Georgia to be included in the UN security council & Russia has veto power on that council, Georgia is a democracy while Russia isn't and Georgia is an active participant in the Iraq war, a war that Russia vehemently opposes.
