Mikheil Saakashvili

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - An independent report blamed Georgia on Wednesday for starting last year's five-day war with Russia, but said Moscow's military response went beyond reasonable limits and violated international law. The report commissioned by the European Union said both sides had broken international humanitarian laws and found evidence of ethnic cleansing against ethnic Georgians during Russia's intervention in the rebel province of South Ossetia. Each side said the report backed up its interpretation of the war. But the findings were particularly critical of U.S. ally Georgia's conduct under President Mikheil Saakashvili and are likely to further damage his political standing. They could also ... Read Full Story

TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgia said on Wednesday an EU-sponsored report on last year's war with Russia proved Moscow had been preparing for conflict all along. Spin machines in both countries went into action after publication of the report, which said Georgia had triggered the war with an unjustified assault on its breakaway South Ossetia region on the night of August 7 last year. The 1,000-page document said Russia's military response had gone beyond reasonable limits and violated international law, but the findings were particularly damning for Georgia's pro-Western president, Mikheil Saakashvili. After Russia welcomed the report as confirmation Georgia had started the war, the ... Read Full Story

Russia News Source: April 10th, 2009! Cuba's Castro will not ask U.S. 'for handout' : Fidel Castro said in his regular column on the Cubadebate website that Cuba wanted an end to the U.S. embargo, imposed some fifty years ago on the country, and has no plans "to ask the U.S. for handouts." Georgian protesters erect tents outside presidential residence : Georgian opposition activists, in their sixth day of street protests demanding the resignation of President Mikheil Saakashvili, put up tents in front of his official Tbilisi residence on Tuesday. Russia starts preparations for Red Square victory parade : Russian troops have begun training ... Read Full Story

Once home to hundreds of refugees and a symbol of Georgia's decline, the 18-storey Iveria Hotel in central Tbilisi re-opened Wednesday as a five-star Western-owned hotel. Presiding over an opening ceremony for the Radisson SAS Iveria following its 100-million-dollar (70-million euro) facelift, President Mikheil Saakashvili praised the development as a sign of Georgia's progress since the civil wars and chaos of the 1990s. "This is the fulfilment of our promise... that in a place that was a symbol of destruction, desolation, humiliation and hopelessness, something which represents the new image of Georgia will be built," he said. Critics, however, dismissed his comments as grandstanding, ... Read Full Story

Vice President Joe Biden told Ukraine Wednesday that its economic future depended in large measure on freeing itself from dependence on Russian energy and pledged US help in finding solutions. "Your economic freedom depends more on your energy freedom than on any other factor," Biden said in a speech as he wrapped up a two-day visit aimed at assuring Ukraine of continued US support despite plans to fix ties with Russia. He described Ukraine as "one of the most free and democratic countries" in eastern Europe but underlined the direct link between its management of energy and its room to manoeuvre on broader issues ... Read Full Story