Russian President Dmitry Medvedev yesterday signed a decree under which Russia formally recognizes the rebel Georgian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states.
“I have signed decrees on the recognition of the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia,” Medvedev said in a pre-recorded address on national television.
“Russia calls on other states to follow its example,” he said, standing at a podium flanked by Russian flags.
PHOTO: AFP
The Russian president said his decision was made “taking into account the freely expressed will of the Ossetian and Abkhaz people” and was in accordance with the UN charter and a 1970 declaration on international law.
Medvedev also cited the Helsinki Final Act and other “fundamental” international documents as justification for his decision.
“This is not an easy choice, but it is the only way to save the lives of people,” Medvedev said.
He said Russia had demonstrated “restraint and patience” in its relationship with Georgia and had repeatedly sought to resolve the dispute over the status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia through negotiations.
“But our insistent proposals to the Georgian side to reach an agreement with Abkhazia and South Ossetia on the renunciation of force remained unanswered,” he said.
“Unfortunately, they were ignored also by NATO and the UN,” Medvedev said.
He attacked the government of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, saying that on the night of Aug. 8 Tbilisi “made its choice.”
He was referring to Georgia’s attack on the separatist forces in South Ossetia.
“Saakashvili chose genocide to achieve his political goals,” Medvedev said.
Medvedev had called a meeting of Russia’s security council earlier yesterday after the parliament urged him to recognize independence for the two regions.
The US described the move to declare Abkhazia and South Ossetia independent from Georgia as “unacceptable,” while the G7 expressed “alarm” and European governments urged Medvedev not to go along with it.
Tensions were running high in the Black Sea after the destroyer USS McFaul carrying humanitarian aid left the Georgian port of Batumi en route to the Georgian port of Poti, where Russian troops are stationed.
US President George W. Bush warned Medvedev not to take the step of recognition, saying it would undercut a French-brokered ceasefire agreement to end the fighting and violate UN resolutions.
“I call on Russia’s leadership to meet its commitments and not recognize these separatist regions,” Bush said in a statement.
Washington also announced it was sending Vice President Dick Cheney, the US administration’s most prominent hawk, to Georgia next week, a day after the EU holds an emergency summit on the Georgia conflict.
Russia has accused NATO countries of using humanitarian aid as “cover” for a build-up of naval forces in the Black Sea.
Moscow also toughened its line with the West, with Medvedev on Monday saying Russia was ready to break with NATO and that it would withdraw from some WTO trade accords.
Medvedev said Russia’s relations with NATO had become “complicated” over the Georgia conflict.
“We will take any decision including up to a complete break in relations” if NATO decides to suspend cooperation with Russia, he was quoted by RIA Novosti news agency as saying.
NATO has suspended a NATO-Russia cooperation council.
Kehinde Sanni spends his days smoothing out dents and repainting scratched bumpers in a modest autobody shop in Lagos. He has never left Nigeria, yet he speaks glowingly of Burkina Faso military leader Ibrahim Traore. “Nigeria needs someone like Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. He is doing well for his country,” Sanni said. His admiration is shaped by a steady stream of viral videos, memes and social media posts — many misleading or outright false — portraying Traore as a fearless reformer who defied Western powers and reclaimed his country’s dignity. The Burkinabe strongman swept into power following a coup in September 2022
‘FRAGMENTING’: British politics have for a long time been dominated by the Labor Party and the Tories, but polls suggest that Reform now poses a significant challenge Hard-right upstarts Reform UK snatched a parliamentary seat from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor Party yesterday in local elections that dealt a blow to the UK’s two establishment parties. Reform, led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage, won the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England by just six votes, as it picked up gains in other localities, including one mayoralty. The group’s strong showing continues momentum it built up at last year’s general election and appears to confirm a trend that the UK is entering an era of multi-party politics. “For the movement, for the party it’s a very, very big
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
SUPPORT: The Australian prime minister promised to back Kyiv against Russia’s invasion, saying: ‘That’s my government’s position. It was yesterday. It still is’ Left-leaning Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday basked in his landslide election win, promising a “disciplined, orderly” government to confront cost-of-living pain and tariff turmoil. People clapped as the 62-year-old and his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, who visited his old inner Sydney haunt, Cafe Italia, surrounded by a crowd of jostling photographers and journalists. Albanese’s Labor Party is on course to win at least 83 seats in the 150-member parliament, partial results showed. Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s conservative Liberal-National coalition had just 38 seats, and other parties 12. Another 17 seats were still in doubt. “We will be a disciplined, orderly
RSS