25 September 2008
Trans-Atlantic Unity Stabilizing Situation in Georgia
U.S.-Russian cooperation continues on challenges from Iran, North Korea
Washington — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice discussed the ongoing Georgia crisis with her European counterparts, who reaffirmed their unified commitment to support Georgia’s recovery and ensure Russia honors its cease-fire commitments.
“The solidarity shown was quite striking,” Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried told reporters on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York September 24. “Trans-Atlantic solidarity has prevented the situation in Georgia from getting even worse. … It was a critical component of our efforts to make the situation better.”
Russia continued to face rising international criticism at the United Nations for its August 8 invasion of its southern neighbor in a dispute over Georgia’s two Moscow-backed separatist regions, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Russia refused to withdraw all its forces to pre-conflict positions as required by an August 14 agreement brokered by the European Union and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). (See “Russia Must Change Course in Georgia, Says Rice.”)
“Russia has … created grave difficulties for itself that cannot be wished away. And it is not a difficulty with the United States; it’s a difficulty with much of the world,” Fried said.
Since then, Russia has further compounded the violation by officially recognizing the two breakaway regions as independent nations, and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has pledged to deploy large military garrisons in the regions that violate the spirit of a supplementary withdrawal agreement he signed with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, according to U.S. officials.
Neither Medvedev nor Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin attended the annual U.N. gathering of world leaders this year.
The United States and its European allies need to work together “so that Russia’s attack on Georgia does not succeed in destroying Georgia’s sovereignty,” Fried said. “The trans-Atlantic community is not going to accept Russia’s recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.”
The EU has pledged 500 million euros ($700 million) to aid Georgia’s recovery ahead of an upcoming international donors conference. European leaders also have approved deployment of 200 civilian cease-fire monitors to the Georgian conflict zone by October 1 to augment U.N. and OSCE observer missions and set the stage for a final Russian troop withdrawal from fortified checkpoints still operating in undisputed Georgian territory.
EU-sponsored peace talks on the future of the two breakaway regions are scheduled to begin in Geneva October 15.
U.S.-RUSSIAN COOPERATION CONTINUES ON IRAN, NORTH KOREA
On September 24, Rice held her first meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov since the Georgia crisis began. While “disagreements are very deep there and remain” on Georgia, Fried reported that Rice also underlined a willingness to continue working together to confront nuclear challenges from Iran and North Korea — an issue of concern to leaders in both Moscow and Washington.
Talks on Iran are continuing among the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States — which, with Germany, make up the “P-5+1,” Fried said.
The P-5+1 process remains intact and on track, Fried said, despite Russia’s decision to decline a proposed ministers meeting during the U.N. General Assembly to press for a new round of U.N. sanctions against Iran. Rice agreed with Russia’s decision, he added, in the wake of a recent report from the International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran was blocking international investigation into possible nuclear weapons research and development.
U.S.-Russian partnership is also continuing in the Six-Party Talks on North Korea, Fried said, where recent weeks have seen troubling moves by North Korea to reactivate its shuttered nuclear program.
Rice and Lavrov discussed how to “send the right kind of message,” Fried said.
“It is our responsibility to work with Russia where we have common interests,” Fried said. “The two ministers were able to have productive, serious discussions about North Korea and Iran despite the ongoing disagreements.”
Fried’s remarks are available from America.gov.
For more information, see Crisis in Georgia.
