US President George W. Bush warned Russia on Monday that its actions would damage Russia’s standing in the eyes of the world, and called on Moscow to accept a ceasefire and withdraw its troops from the region.
While many of the world powers watch silently as the violence and battles unfold on television screens worldwide, very few questioned whether Russia’s keen intent to continue the hostilities may be part of a larger plan involving the control of the major oil pipeline -Baku – Tbilisi –Ceyhan, carrying oil to the West from Asia, connecting Azerbaijan to Turkey. While Georgia may have insignificant energy reserves of its own, it is a key player, and link to the pipeline that runs through its territory, markedly avoiding Russian soil. Several days ago Russia fighter jets targeted the pipeline.
A book written by Michael Klare called Rising Powers, Shrinking Planet: The New Geopolitics of Energy says the United States seeks to use Georgia as an energy corridor to transport Caspian energy to the West without having to go through Iran or Russia. “Ït (US) helped build the BTC (Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan) pipeline across Georgia, beef up the Georgian military to protect it. Russia seeks to frustrate the United State’s use of Georgia for this purpose and uses Abkhazia and south Ossetia as daggers pointed at the jugular of the BTC pipeline,” Klare writes. “When Saakashvili sought to drive Russia out of these enclaves, the Russians struck back,” he said.
On Monday evening, as reports were received claiming Russian troops had captured Gori, located nearly 100 kilometers from Tibilisi, Georgia’s President Mikhail Saakashvili declared in a speech before the nation that Russian troops had cut the country in half . Givi Shugarov at the Georgian Embassy in Moscow said Russian forces appeared to be making their way towards Tibilisi with the intent of overthrowing the Georgian government.
In response to growing international pressure, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin claimed the West had manipulated the truth about the war presenting Georgians as the victims rather then the aggressors. Chiding the United States Putin said it was shameful that some of Russia’s partners appeared more intent on hindering then helping Moscow. “The attempt to turn white into black and black into white and portray victims of aggression as the aggressors and place responsibility for the consequences of the aggression on the victims is astonishing.”
Earlier Monday, Russia rejected a cease fire pledge signed by Saakashvili that was proposed by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb.08/12/08
Margot Dudkevitch
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