 Georgia ceasefire proposal rejected
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-12 08:16 Russia yesterday rejected the latest ceasefire proposal tabled by Georgia over the ongoing conflict between the two countries, saying that it would not even consider a ceasefire document at present. "According to information from peacekeepers in South Ossetia, Georgia continues to use military force and in this regard we cannot consider this document," a Kremlin spokesman told reporters. It follows a proposal signed in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi by the Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, offering a ceasefire. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin yesterday said the West had mistaken the real aggressors for the victims in a conflict with Georgia over the region of South Ossetia. Putin, speaking on television, singled out the United States, saying Washington was helping to bring Georgian troops home from Iraq. Putin also said Russia would take its peacekeeping mission in South Ossetia to a logical conclusion. The simmering conflict between Russia and its small, former Soviet neighbor erupted last Thursday when Georgia suddenly sent forces to retake South Ossetia, a pro-Russian province that threw off Georgian rule in the 1990s. Moscow responded with a counter-attack that drove Georgian forces out of the devastated South Ossetian capital Tshkhinvali on Sunday. Russia says more than 2,000 people have been killed in the fighting and thousands more are homeless but these figures have not been independently verified. The crisis in the Caucasus has triggered alarm in the West. Georgia is an important energy transit route, with a key pipeline carrying oil west from the Caspian to European markets. Ceasefire urged China expressed grave concern over the escalation of tension and armed conflicts in South Ossetia and called upon relevant parties to show restraint and cease fire immediately. "We sincerely hope relevant parties resolve their disputes peacefully through dialogue, so as to safeguard regional peace and stability," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said. Agencies and China Daily (China Daily 08/12/2008 page21) |
