Tweet
PR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung), Austria
Sept 5 2008
Russia is testing West and Crimea could be target
2008-09-06 01:37:03 -
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - A resurgent Russia is testing the West and
Ukraine's strategic Crimea peninsula could become a target, the Czech
Republic's deputy foreign minister warned Friday.
Tomas Pojar said Russia's strong objection to U.S. missile defense
bases in the Czech Republic and Poland and recent events in Georgia
clearly indicate Moscow's opposition to
Western influence in the former Soviet Union's sphere of influence.
«We are being tested,» he told a group of U.N. journalists. «We should
be careful. We should be firm.
Russia drew harsh criticism from the U.S. and Europe for recognizing
two separatist Georgian territories as independent states following a
short but devastating war that left Russian troops in control of a key
Georgian Black Sea port and other locations deep inside Georgia.
The conflict followed an escalation of incidents over many months by
pro-Russian separatists from South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and the
Russian and Georgian military, and was sparked by Georgia's attempt to
use force to retake control of South Ossetia.
«For us, the events of Georgia were not such a surprise,» Pojar
said. «We were predicting that there may be some escalation. We were
trying to avoid it and warn everyone to be cautious.
The United States, which has been training the Georgian military, has
said it also warned the government against military action.
Pojar Friday raised the possibility of confrontations with Moscow
elsewhere.
«I think that we would not be surprised if in the future similar
events, for example, develop in Crimea,» he said. «We hope that it is
not going to happen, but we think that the situation there is not very
stable, and to provoke more instability would probably not be that
difficult.
The Crimea peninsula on the Black Sea, once a jewel of Russia's
empire, was a beloved tourist destination in the Soviet era and home
to the proud Soviet naval base in the port of Sevastopol. But in 1954,
control of the Crimea was handed to the then Soviet republic of
Ukraine by leader Nikita Khrushchev, who had lived and worked there
for years. After the 1991 Soviet breakup, it remained part of
independent Ukraine, with an agreement allowing Russia to keep it's
naval base there.
Pojar said the Crimea could become «some new frozen or unfrozen
conflict because of the situation on the ground, because of the
political demographic and (Russian) military presence in Crimea.
He said there are a lot of similarities to the situation in South
Ossetia, Abkhazia and Armenia's occupation of the Nagorno-Karabakh
region of Azerbaijan.
The United States and the European Union should realize «the strategic
importance of stability and prosperity in Ukraine and in the whole of
Caucuses,» he said.
«I don't think there should be talk of sanctions» by the West, Pojar
said. «I think there should be strong (Western) presence in Caucuses
and in Ukraine in terms of support of economic stability, recovery of
Ukraine, international presence on the ground, international monitors
on the ground _ and it should be robust.
The Czech Republic supported a donor conference for Ukraine at a
recent EU meeting and Pojar said he hopes it will take place soon.
He praised the U.S. announcement of a US$1 billion aid package for
Georgia as exactly the right way to «move forward.
Pojar spoke to reporters as U.S. Vice president Dick Cheney started a
tour of three ex-Soviet republics _ Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Georgia _
that are wary of Russia's intentions after last month's war with
Georgia.
The Czech minister said he came to the United States for the first
round of a strategic dialogue with U.S. government officials on
foreign policy and security issues and defense and development
cooperation.
The Czech government signed a bilateral treaty in July allowing the
U.S. to build a radar base near Prague as part of a proposed
U.S. missile defense system that has been harshly criticized by
Russia.
Pojar said there is «significant opposition» to the treaty in
parliament but the government expects it to be ratified by the end of
the year.
He said the Czech Republic has also almost concluded status of forces
negotiations with the United States. The text of the agreement is with
the lawyers to be checked but the government is not expecting any
problems, Pojar said.
Sept 5 2008
Russia is testing West and Crimea could be target
2008-09-06 01:37:03 -
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - A resurgent Russia is testing the West and
Ukraine's strategic Crimea peninsula could become a target, the Czech
Republic's deputy foreign minister warned Friday.
Tomas Pojar said Russia's strong objection to U.S. missile defense
bases in the Czech Republic and Poland and recent events in Georgia
clearly indicate Moscow's opposition to
Western influence in the former Soviet Union's sphere of influence.
«We are being tested,» he told a group of U.N. journalists. «We should
be careful. We should be firm.
Russia drew harsh criticism from the U.S. and Europe for recognizing
two separatist Georgian territories as independent states following a
short but devastating war that left Russian troops in control of a key
Georgian Black Sea port and other locations deep inside Georgia.
The conflict followed an escalation of incidents over many months by
pro-Russian separatists from South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and the
Russian and Georgian military, and was sparked by Georgia's attempt to
use force to retake control of South Ossetia.
«For us, the events of Georgia were not such a surprise,» Pojar
said. «We were predicting that there may be some escalation. We were
trying to avoid it and warn everyone to be cautious.
The United States, which has been training the Georgian military, has
said it also warned the government against military action.
Pojar Friday raised the possibility of confrontations with Moscow
elsewhere.
«I think that we would not be surprised if in the future similar
events, for example, develop in Crimea,» he said. «We hope that it is
not going to happen, but we think that the situation there is not very
stable, and to provoke more instability would probably not be that
difficult.
The Crimea peninsula on the Black Sea, once a jewel of Russia's
empire, was a beloved tourist destination in the Soviet era and home
to the proud Soviet naval base in the port of Sevastopol. But in 1954,
control of the Crimea was handed to the then Soviet republic of
Ukraine by leader Nikita Khrushchev, who had lived and worked there
for years. After the 1991 Soviet breakup, it remained part of
independent Ukraine, with an agreement allowing Russia to keep it's
naval base there.
Pojar said the Crimea could become «some new frozen or unfrozen
conflict because of the situation on the ground, because of the
political demographic and (Russian) military presence in Crimea.
He said there are a lot of similarities to the situation in South
Ossetia, Abkhazia and Armenia's occupation of the Nagorno-Karabakh
region of Azerbaijan.
The United States and the European Union should realize «the strategic
importance of stability and prosperity in Ukraine and in the whole of
Caucuses,» he said.
«I don't think there should be talk of sanctions» by the West, Pojar
said. «I think there should be strong (Western) presence in Caucuses
and in Ukraine in terms of support of economic stability, recovery of
Ukraine, international presence on the ground, international monitors
on the ground _ and it should be robust.
The Czech Republic supported a donor conference for Ukraine at a
recent EU meeting and Pojar said he hopes it will take place soon.
He praised the U.S. announcement of a US$1 billion aid package for
Georgia as exactly the right way to «move forward.
Pojar spoke to reporters as U.S. Vice president Dick Cheney started a
tour of three ex-Soviet republics _ Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Georgia _
that are wary of Russia's intentions after last month's war with
Georgia.
The Czech minister said he came to the United States for the first
round of a strategic dialogue with U.S. government officials on
foreign policy and security issues and defense and development
cooperation.
The Czech government signed a bilateral treaty in July allowing the
U.S. to build a radar base near Prague as part of a proposed
U.S. missile defense system that has been harshly criticized by
Russia.
Pojar said there is «significant opposition» to the treaty in
parliament but the government expects it to be ratified by the end of
the year.
He said the Czech Republic has also almost concluded status of forces
negotiations with the United States. The text of the agreement is with
the lawyers to be checked but the government is not expecting any
problems, Pojar said.