Is The Georgian / Russian Truce About To Be Broken?

Soldiers, part of a Russian military convoy, travel on their way on a main road leading to the Georgian city of Zugdidi, which is about 350 km (220 miles) away from Georgia's capital Tbilisi, August 13, 2008. Georgia accused Russia on Wednesday of sending tanks from South Ossetia into the Georgian town of Gori but Russia issued a swift denial and an eyewitness said the town was empty. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (GEORGIA)

Georgia Says Russian Tanks Violate Truce -- From Yahoo News/AP

TBILISI, Georgia - Georgian officials charged Wednesday that Russian tanks had rolled into a strategic city and seized a military base inside Georgia in violation of a freshly brokered truce intended to end a conflict that had bloodied and battered the U.S. ally and uprooted tens of thousands of people.

The accusation came less than 12 hours after Georgia's president said he accepted a cease-fire plan brokered by France. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia was halting military action because Georgia had paid enough for its attack on South Ossetia, a separatist region along the Russian border with close ties to Moscow.

Still, Medvedev ordered the Russian defense minister at a televised Kremlin meeting to destroy any resistance or aggressive actions.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili had gambled on a surprise attack late Thursday to regain control over his country's pro-Russian breakaway province of South Ossetia. Instead, Georgia suffered a punishing beating from Russian tanks and aircraft that has left the country with even less control over territory than it had before.

Read more ....

More News On The Georgia / Russian War

Georgia says Russians bombing, looting key city -- Yahoo News/AP
Russian tanks patrol Georgia town -- BBC News
Georgia Says Russians Bombing, Looting Key City -- ABC News
Georgia, Russia claim cease-fire violations -- CNN
Georgian villages burned and looted as Russian tanks advance -- The Guardian
Georgia: Russia Tanks Break Truce -- Time Magazine
Georgia Says Russian Troops Still Fighting Despite Accord -- New York Times
Russia says has no troops in Georgian town Gori -- Reuters
Shaky Caucasus ceasefire holds amid claims of tanks in Gori -- Times Online
Russia's Lavrov says Moscow accepts changed text -- Reuters

My Comment: Gori .... the birthplace of Joseph Stalin. Many Russians have a love/hate relationship with this man. For some, he was the strongman that saved the Soviet Union, for others he was a murderous thug that systematically wiped out whole families. I am sure that there are many in Russia who would love to see the City of Gori be burnt to the ground.

Georgian officials are clearly spooked that Russia may break the truce between them. They are in no position to counter attack .... nor are they in a position to properly defend their own capital city. I expect more pronouncements and statements talking about Russian military violations in the next few days.

But looking at the big picture, I strongly expect that Russia will respect the truce agreement they made via through the French and the EU. They may give their enemies a hard time, but they are not in a habit of alienating their friends.