Crisis in the Caucasus
EU Considers Sanctions as Russia Looks for Friends
With European Union leaders set to gather on Monday to discuss Russia and the crisis in Georgia, France today announced that sanctions will be considered. Russia responded by saying the EU has a "sick imagination."
AP
Russiah President Dmitry Medvedev was shopping for friends in Dushanbe on Thursday.
The cartoon published in the editorial pages of Germany's
Süddeutsche Zeitung on Thursday is telling. Sitting high up in the branches of a tree is a soldier, labelled "NATO" and a woman, labelled "Europe." The man says to the woman, "one thing is clear, he is completely isolated." "He," in this case, is at the bottom of the image -- a gigantic bear leaning against the tree, preventing NATO and Europe from climbing down. The bear is labelled "Russia."
It is a drawing that goes a long way toward explaining the last few days of maneuvering in the Caucasus crisis. On Tuesday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev recognized the independence of the two breakaway Georgian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Prior to that, it had become clear that Russia is in no hurry to withdraw its last troops from Georgia proper despite repeated assurances that it would do so. And throughout the week, the West has been trying to formulate an appropriate response that goes beyond merely telling Moscow that it's not playing fair.
On Thursday, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner indicated how that response might ultimately look. When asked during a Paris press conference how the European Union intends to respond to Moscow's continued refusal to completely withdraw its troops from Georgia, Kouchner said that "sanctions are being considered and many other means as well."
France is the current holder of the European Union's rotating presidency and will be hosting a meeting of EU heads of state next Monday to talk about the Georgian crisis. "We are trying to elaborate a strong text that will show our determination not to accept (Russia's actions in the Caucasus)," he said. "Of course, there are also sanctions."
THE WORLD REACTS TO RUSSIA
Shortly after the war broke out between Georgia and Russia, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, as current holder of the rotating EU presidency, presented both sides with a six-point cease-fire plan that was quickly accepted by both sides. Russia angered the EU by not fully complying with the cease-fire and not immediately withdrawing troops from the region. Russia also sent troops deeper into Georgia.
Some in the 27-member EU would like to see sanctions imposed on Russia. Others, including France, are not in favor of such a move. Indeed, since the war in Georgia earlier this month, the EU has been split between those countries, many in Eastern Europe but also including Great Britain, which would like the EU to take a tough line on Russia, and those in Western Europe which have emphasized a more diplomatic approach.
A further reason for the EU split stems from the bloc's reliance on Russia for much of its oil and natural gas needs. Some countries, such as Slovakia, Finland and Bulgaria depending on Russia for more than 90 percent of the gas they use to heat homes and power factories.
The EU also condemned Russia after it recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the two breakaway regions of Georgia. Sarkozy issued a statement that said the move was "contrary to the principles of Georgia's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity." German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev last week and talked to him by phone this week, has demanded Russian adherence to the EU's cease-fire plan. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had tried to defuse rising tensions in the region in July prior to the outbreak of violence.
NATO quickly threw its support behind Georgia after the conflict with Russia began. After the European Union and Russia agreed to a six-point cease fire plan, NATO urged Russia to remove troops from the area. As the conflict continued NATO formally announced suspension of business as usual with Moscow. The Western alliance deplored Russia's invasion of Georgia and said Moscow had used "disproportionate force."
NATO also later condemned the decision of Russia to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia's independence and urged Moscow to reverse that decision. In response, Russia announced a halt to all military cooperation with the alliance. NATO declined to offer Georgia a Membership Action Plan (MAP) earlier this year, a decision many have pointed to as having encouraged Russia to march into Georgia. Both Germany and France were opposed to granting Georgia a MAP until it had resolved its issues with both South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The US was strongly in favor of Georgian NATO membership.
Shortly after Russia responded with force to Georgia's attack on South Ossetia, the US condemned Moscow and accused the Russians of using excessive force. US President George W. Bush called for an immediate pull out of Russian troops from the region and blasted Russia for sending troops further into Georgia.
US Vice President Dick Cheney vowed that the US was an ally that Georgia, a young democracy, could count on after an "unjustified assault." Some in the US have also openly contemplated methods of punishing Russia. There has been talk of keeping Russia out of the World Trade Organization, which Russia has been trying to join for 13 years. Some would like to see Moscow kicked out of the G8.
Days after the attacks subsided, Poland agreed to host part of the US missile defense shield. The US has insisted that Russia should not feel threatened by the shield, designed as it is to intercept missiles from rogue states such as Iran. But Russia has threatened that there may be consequences
On August 24, the US sent humanitarian aid to the Georgian port of Batumi. They carried baby food, bottled water and other supplies.
Although it responded late, China dealt a blow to Moscow's attempt at mustering support for its invasion of Georgia when Beijing called for respect for every country's territorial integrity. The comment from China came at a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. The SCO is intended as a Central Asian counterpart to NATO. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev asked China and other members of the SCO to sign a declaration of support for Russia's role in Georgia.
"We understand the complex history and realities of South Ossetia and Abkhazia," said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang. "Reflecting China's consistent stance on such issues, we hope all the parties can appropriately resolve the issue through dialogue and consultation." Beijing declined to back Russia on the issue and urged a peaceful resolution.
The response from Russia, as has been the case all week, came promptly. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was in Tajikistan for a regional summit of China, Russia and Central Asian countries. EU talk about sanctions, Lavrov said, is the product of a "sick imagination." He continued, saying "it is a demonstration of complete confusion."
The exchange is just the most recent in a week that has been full of them. The US has blasted Russia numerous times throughout the week, the most recent coming from Vice President Dick Cheney who called Russia's invasion of Georgia an "unjustified assault." NATO pointed out it was a violation of UN resolutions that Russia itself had helped pass. And numerous EU leaders have also condemned Moscow's recognition of the two provinces' independence.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday to demand that he comply with the cease-fire hammered out two weeks ago -- a deal which, by the West's reading, would demand that Russia remove all its troops from Georgia.
On Wednesday, the G7 group of leading industrialized nations harshly condemned Russia and demanded it remove its troops from Georgia.
But even as the West has sought to isolate Russia, Moscow has remained steadfast. On Thursday, a Russian spokeswoman announced that the country had successfully tested a new long-range missile that is designed to avoid detection by the kind of missile-detection system the US is currently building. Moscow has also sought to compare its recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia with Western recognition of Kosovo independence earlier this year.
Moscow has even begun shopping around for other countries which might be interested in recognizing South Ossetian and Abkhazian independence. On Wednesday, Russia's ambassador to Macedonia, Vladimir Solotsinsky, said he had issued a formal invitation to the government in Skopje to make such a recognition. Belarus on Thursday threw its support behind the Moscow recognition and may itself soon recognize the two provinces' independence, according to a report by the Russian news agency Interfax.
Still, it is unclear how long the bluster from both sides is going to last. NATO has been quick to try and ease Russian concerns about its presence in the Black Sea, insisting that a group of warships there is merely part of an exercise that had been planned long before.
And Russia's attempts to find international support for its invasion of Georgia -- which it launched after Tbilisi ordered troops into South Ossetia on Aug. 7 in an attempt to regain control of the province -- have not been going well. Even as Moscow said it had found support from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a group composed of a number of Central Asian countries along with China and Russia, the group stopped short of recognizing South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Indeed, China voiced its "concern" on Wednesday at the ongoing situation in the Caucasus and the SCO statement delivered on Thursday read: "The SCO member states express their deep concern over the recent tensions surrounding the South Ossetia question and call for the sides to peacefully resolve existing problems through dialogue."
The EU too has said it would like to maintain a speaking relationship with Russia. Even as Kouchner said on Thursday that some EU countries wanted to slap sanctions on Moscow, he made it clear that France was not one of them.
"France is not in favor of cutting relations with Russia," he said. "We need time. We're under no illusion about that."
cgh -- with wire reports
© SPIEGEL ONLINE 2008
All Rights Reserved
Reproduction only allowed with the permission of SPIEGELnet GmbH
