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Georgian Minister Warns Of 'Domino Effect' In Caucasus Crisis

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  • Georgian Minister Warns Of 'Domino Effect' In Caucasus Crisis

    GEORGIAN MINISTER WARNS OF 'DOMINO EFFECT' IN CAUCASUS CRISIS

    Agence France Presse
    August 31, 2008 Sunday

    Georgian Foreign Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili warned Sunday of the
    risk of tensions snowballing across the Caucasus and into Ukraine
    after Russian troops entered Georgia.

    "Russia's military hostility against the small state of Georgia could
    have a domino effect in other countries of the region like Ukraine,"
    Tkeshelashvili told a press conference with Turkish counterpart Ali
    Babacan in Istanbul.

    Babacan was hosting Tkeshelashvili two days before he is due to meet
    Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the same city.

    "When the weapons fall silent, it is time for diplomacy," the Turkish
    minister said. But there are no plans for a three-way ministerial
    meeting, a government official said earlier.

    Tkeshelashvili said Tbilisi would not talk to Moscow "for as long as
    the Russian Federation has not left Georgia and does not fully apply
    the ceasefire."

    However, in a change of stance, she also stated that Tbilisi was not
    looking for European sanctions against Russia, ahead of Monday's
    emergency EU summit in Brussels aimed at agreeing on a bloc-wide
    response to the Georgia-Russia conflict.

    "For us, European sanctions against Russia are not a priority,"
    she said, adding that measures short of formal sanctions could be
    effective.

    The French EU presidency has all-but ruled out sanctions, but leaders
    are still debating a response that could include measures to reduce
    Europe's dependency on Russian oil and gas.

    Other levers targeting individual leaders have in past cases included
    travel bans or the freezing of overseas bank accounts.

    Russian troops entered Georgia on August 8 to push back a Georgian
    offensive to retake South Ossetia, which broke away from Tbilisi in
    the early 1990s with Moscow's backing.

    Georgia and Russia accuse each other of having provoked the conflict.

    Moscow had pulled out most troops after a French-mediated ceasefire
    agreement but Tbilisi wants all Russian forces to leave the country.

    Tkeshelashvili accused Moscow of an "expansionist policy" and called
    on the international community to back Georgia's territorial integrity.

    Babacan urged Moscow and Tbilisi to keep all channels of communications
    open and proposed the creation of a Platform for Cooperation and
    Stability in the Caucasus which would group Armenia, Azerbaijan,
    Georgia, Russia and Turkey.

    Tkeshelashvili welcomed the proposal but said Tbilisi's priority was
    the withdrawal of Russian troops from her country.

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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