Georgia sparked a five-day war with Russia last year by attacking rebel South Ossetia, an investigating team said Wednesday, but it also accused Moscow of violating international law. In a report of some 1,150 pages handed to EU ambassadors Wednesday, the 19-member commission found that while Russia had ratcheted up tensions prior to the conflict, Georgia fired the first shots. Yet despite the conclusions, both sides claimed the probe found in their favour, even though pressure is sure to... Read Full Story
Following are key excerpts from the independent EU-commissioned report on the causes of the August 2008 war between Russia and Georgia: "Russia called its military actions in Georgia a 'peace enforcement operation' while Georgia called it an 'aggression'." "On the night of 7 to 8 August 2008 ... heavy fighting erupted in and around the town of Tskhinvali in South Ossetia (and) soon extended to other parts of Georgia. "It caused serious destruction, reaching levels of utter devastation... Read Full Story
Since his election as president of Russia, Dimitry Medvedev has come across as the stooge of Prime Minister Putin and rarely has taken a stand that differs from that of his mentor. However, in his annual State of the Nation address, the president made some oblique references to failed policies of Putin and promised that he would work for creation of a high tech and more democratic Russia. “We need to admit that in the previous years we didn’t do enough to overcome the problems that we... Read Full Story
The Obama administration has gained the high ground in upcoming talks with Iran, but Tehran — famous for diplomatic stall tactics — will probably leave the Geneva negotiations having bought still more time to pursue its nuclear ambitions. Even though the U.S. and two key allies disclosed last week that Iran was secretly building a second uranium enrichment plant, and even though the Russians have spoken more positively about tough sanctions against Tehran, the Islamic republic remained... Read Full Story
Georgia sparked a five-day war with Russia last year by attacking rebel South Ossetia, an investigating team said Wednesday, but it also blamed Russia for violating international law. "In the mission's view, it was Georgia which triggered off the war when it attacked Tskhinvali (in South Ossetia) with heavy artillery on the night of 7 to 8 August, 2008," the head of the fact-finding mission said. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has long insisted that the attack in South Ossetia was... Read Full Story
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Moscow late Monday to seek broader Russian help in curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions, including its support for sanctions if Tehran rejects diplomacy. Clinton, who flew here from Northern Ireland, also plans to advance negotiations for a new US-Russian nuclear arms reduction treaty as well as seek Russian help to promote Middle East peace and stabilise Afghanistan, aides said. Her two-day visit to Moscow and the mainly Muslim city of Kazan is... Read Full Story
Russia's Dmitry Donskoy strategic nuclear-powered submarine returned on Wednesday from a short sea test run to prepare for upcoming test launches of the troubled Bulava missile. "The sub left the base in Severodvinsk on Monday to test the readiness of the equipment for future launches of the Bulava missile," a Severodvinsk administration official said, without specifying the date for the next test of the missile. The Typhoon-class submarine, based at a naval facility in northern Russia's... Read Full Story
ICBMs Without Nukes: USA’s Best New Weapon? — Newsweek
How might the United States ratchet up pressure on foreign enemies and threats, wherever they are on the globe, while reducing the need to station warships, planes, and troops within striking distance? A new type of weapon might do the trick–and even facilitate President Barack Obama’s efforts to reduce the U.S. arsenal of nuclear warheads, which are of limited use against terrorists anyway.
THE IDEA: The Department of Defense is... Read Full Story
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Tuesday pledged the state's role in the economy would decrease in the coming years, as he laid out ambitious targets for post-crisis Russia. One year after the global financial crisis raised the spectre of the state retaking huge stakes in private enterprises in exchange for bailouts, Putin said fears of broad nationalisation had not come true and stressed the market would continue to reign supreme in Russia. "As the situation keeps stabilising, the... Read Full Story
An investigating team blames Georgia for starting the war last year with Russia but accuses Moscow of escalating tensions ahead of the conflict, a source close to the inquiry said on Wednesday. The commission, in a long awaited report ordered by the European Union in December, concluded that Georgia had sparked the war in August 2008 with an attack on its breakaway region of South Ossetia. Russia was blamed for provocation that ratcheted up tensions in the weeks before the night of August 7... Read Full Story
