Vladimir Putin 'Wanted To Hang Georgian President Saakashvili By The Balls'

From Times Online:

Nicolas Sarkozy saved the President of Georgia from being hanged “by the balls” — a threat made last summer by Vladimir Putin, according to an account that emerged yesterday from the Élysée Palace.

The Russian Prime Minister had revealed his plans for disposing of Mr Saakashvili when Mr Sarkozy was in Moscow in August to broker a ceasefire in Georgia.

Jean-David Levitte, Mr Sarkozy’s chief diplomatic adviser, reported the exchange in a news magazine before an EU-Russia summit today. The meeting will be chaired by the French leader and President Medvedev.

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My Comment: It sounds like Putin wants to run for the Russian Presidency again.

Russian Military Weaknesses Are Now Being Revealed

Russia Suffers a Bloody Nose in Georgia
-- American Thinker

TBILISI, GEORGIA Viewed from Georgia, Russia suffered a significant bloody nose in its August invasion. Russia dislodged Georgian soldiers and ethnically cleansed South Ossetia and Abkhazia, setting up puppet regimes in both breakaway regions. But Russian armed forces performed poorly and Moscow sustained economic and political damage.

What I learned in briefings from defense and diplomatic officials -- many of them bright young people in their early 30s -- is being confirmed by reports filtering out of Russia. Georgian Deputy Defense Minister Batu Kutelia told me that 1700 Russian soldiers were killed, as compared with 167 Georgians, and that 17 Russian combat aircraft were shot down, including a TU-22 strategic bomber.

While these numbers cannot be completely confirmed, observers saw the Russian armored armada bogged down in mountain passes, exposing it to accurate long-range rockets. The Russians admitted losing four aircraft, including the bomber; sources in Moscow claimed the count was much higher. The loss of the $200 million TU-22, piloted by a 53-year-old reservist who bailed out and was captured by Georgians, exposes stunning Russian weakness. The TU-22 was being used for reconnaissance. Contemporary armed forces use pilotless drones for reconnaissance to minimize risk to personnel and costly equipment.

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My Comment: Russian military weaknesses are now being revealed.

Why Good Translators Are Important

Bad French Prolongs Russia-Georgia Conflict -- The Telegraph

The conflict between Russia and Georgia has been worsened by badly-translated French, France's foreign minister has admitted on the eve of crucial talks in Moscow between the European Union and the Kremlin.

Last month's ceasefire agreement centred around the creation of "buffer zones" between Russia and the Georgian breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia which are now effectively controlled by the Kremlin. The agreement was brokered by Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president whose country currently holds the EU presidency. But the original diplomatic coup became an embarrassing failure as Russia failed to move its troops off the main body of Georgia.

Bernard Kouchner told a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the weekend that the ceasefire agreement was written in French before being translated into English and then Russian. Asked what problems surrounded the buffer zones, Mr Kouchner replied: "The translation, as always."

Last month's five day conflict in Georgia cost hundreds of lives, with many more injured and made homeless. Russia has redrawn the map of Europe and opened a new threatening chapter in its relations with the West.

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My Comment: What a farce. When I read the Russian websites, their interpretation of the ceasefire agreement appeared strange in that (according to them) they were following the conditions of the agreement .... and they could not understand why the West was reacting the way that it was.

Now we know why. The English version of the agreement is different from the Russian version.

Talk about bad communication.

Talk about a disaster.

Sanctions Against Russia Delayed

Russian Pledge To Withdraw Troops Adverts EU Sanctions
-- The Australian

EU leaders shied away from imposing sanctions on Russia yesterday after French President Nicolas Sarkozy received the personal assurance of his Russian counterpart that he would finally withdraw troops from Georgia.

The European bloc opted instead to freeze talks with Moscow on closer ties until Russia withdrew from Georgia.

Mr Sarkozy will travel to Moscow next Monday on behalf of the EU to check compliance with the peace plan he negotiated last month, giving Russia a second chance to pull back its forces to their positions before the invasion on August 8.

Speaking after an emergency EU summit on the Georgian crisis, Mr Sarkozy, whose country holds the EU presidency, defended Europe's soft approach by insisting a punitive or military response would set the EU and Russia on the path to a new Cold War.

The 27 leaders agreed to postpone long-running trade and aid talks with Moscow until it withdrew its troops, which it has promised to do on numerous occasions. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Mr Sarkozy was assured by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that he would meet the terms of the peace plan.

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My Comment: Europeans are saying that discussions on sanctions will be revisited in a few weeks. But everyone knows that ethnic cleansing will have been finished by then, and the issue of where Russian soldiers should be dug in will be swept under the rug as a "fait accompli".

Aftermath Of The Russian / Georgian War

A man walks past a destroyed building in Khetagurovo in Georgia on August 29. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has urged the European Union to ignore calls to punish Moscow over the Georgia conflict as Tbilisi appealed for targeted punishment of the Russian leadership. (AFP/Viktor Drachev)

Russia Reaches Out To EU As Georgia Calls
For Sanctions -- Yahoo News/AFP

MOSCOW (AFP) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin urged the European Union to ignore calls to punish Moscow over the Georgia conflict as Tbilisi appealed Saturday for targeted punishment of the Russian leadership.

The former Kremlin leader also renewed accusations of US involvement in the fighting this month between Russian and Georgian forces over the breakaway region of South Ossetia.

Putin spoke after Georgia broke off diplomatic relations with Russia and Moscow hit back at the West for condemning its decision to recognise the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia from Georgia.

EU leaders are holding an emergency summit on Monday to increase pressure on Russia but the French EU presidency has made clear they will not opt for sanctions.

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More News On The Aftermath Of the Russian / Georgia War

Fears of isolation as investors flee Russia -- AP
Kremlin announces that South Ossetia will join 'one united Russian state' -- Times Online
Putin in fresh attack on US over Georgia -- Yahoo News/AFP
Georgian Crisis 'Decisive Moment' in Russia-West Ties -- Voice Of America
Georgia says Russia troops blocking refugee return -- Reuters
Moscow appeals to EU ahead of Georgia talks -- Irish Times
US 'not surprised' by Georgia-Russia break -- AFP
Georgia and Russia Cut Diplomatic Ties -- New York Times
In Georgia, Watching a Young Democracy's Spirits Flag -- Washington Post
OSCE report points finger at Georgia for S. Ossetia crisis -- RIA Novosti
U.S. Ally Proves Volatile Amid Dispute With Russia -- Wall Street Journal

My Comment: Sanctions will stop Russian economic growth and development .... a situation that is not in the best interests of Russia. But fortunately for Russia, Europe has no appetite to pursue such a course at the present time.

How Russia Started A War With Georgia Using Local Militias (Commentary From Michael Totten)

The Truth About Russia in Georgia -- Middle East Journal

TBILISI, GEORGIA – Virtually everyone believes Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili foolishly provoked a Russian invasion on August 7, 2008, when he sent troops into the breakaway district of South Ossetia. “The warfare began Aug. 7 when Georgia launched a barrage targeting South Ossetia,” the Associated Press reported over the weekend in typical fashion.

Virtually everyone is wrong. Georgia didn't start it on August 7, nor on any other date. The South Ossetian militia started it on August 6 when its fighters fired on Georgian peacekeepers and Georgian villages with weapons banned by the agreement hammered out between the two sides in 1994. At the same time, the Russian military sent its invasion force bearing down on Georgia from the north side of the Caucasus Mountains on the Russian side of the border through the Roki tunnel and into Georgia. This happened before Saakashvili sent additional troops to South Ossetia and allegedly started the war.

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