Русская версияSarkozy, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, met on
Tuesday, Aug.
12, with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow
before flying on to Tbilisi to hold talks with Saakashvili. Moscow
had ordered a halt to military operations in Georgia earlier in the
day.
Both Medvedev and Saakashvili reportedly agreed to the plan, though
it has not been finalized and several points of contention still
need to be ironed out.
On Saakashvili's request, Medvedev agreed to remove a clause in the
peace document referring talks on the future status of South
Ossetia and Abkhazia, separatist provinces in northern Georgia with
strong ties to Russia.
"The territorial integrity and belonging of South Ossetia and
Abkhazia to Georgia can never be put under doubt," said the
Georgian president early Wednesday at a joint news conference
following his talks with Sarkozy.
EU ministers hold crisis talks
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Medvedev called Tuesday for a halt to hostilities
The six-point peace plan, which calls for an end to hostilities on
both sides and a return to pre-conflict positions, is to be
reviewed Wednesday by EU foreign minister in Brussels.
Both Tbilisi and Moscow continued to report attacks Tuesday even
after Medvedev had ordered an end to military operations.
Though the EU called for an immediate cease-fire and appealed to
Russia to respect Georgia's territorial integrity, the bloc is
deeply divided and has avoided taking sides in the Caucasus crisis.
While leading powers like France, Italy and Germany have had
positive ties with Russia, the formerly communist eastern European
member states have condemned what they call Russian aggression
against Georgia.
During talks on Wednesday, EU ministers would discuss a variety of
measures including halting EU assistance, cancelling visa talks and
reviewing negotiations on a new partnership agreement with Moscow,
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Petras Vaitiekunas told Reuters news
agency.
Some EU countries have called for a European peacekeeping force in
the disputed regions, but there has been no indication that Russia
would accept such a plan.
Georgia's membership bid divides NATO
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An attack on one NATO member is considered to be an attack on all
members
Meeting Tuesday in Brussels, NATO ambassadors criticized Russia for
"excessive, disproportionate use of force" and reiterated support
for Georgia's eventual membership in the alliance.
Georgian membership, however, has divided the alliance. Its bid to
join was deferred at a summit in Bucharest in April, with NATO
leaders promising that both Georgia and Ukraine, another former
member of the Soviet Union, would become members at some point in
the future.
NATO has agreed eventually to allow Georgia entry into the
western alliance. Moscow is fiercely opposed.
Fighting broke out in the South Ossetian region on Friday when
Georgian troops launched on offensive to reclaim the breakaway
territory, which broke away from Tbilisi in the early 1990s.
Russia responded with military support for the separatists, pouring
troops into South Ossetia and then into Georgia proper.
Bildunterschrift:
(Deutsche Welle)
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