The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

[yerazhishda]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

I am girls' leader and I twist boys( from every race not only Turkish) round my little finger.(Including you ) and a boy have to think 2 times before speaking to me

Hmm... when Armenia tanks roll into Van, Trabzon,Muş ?
Lets suppose, You have to fight with Lazs in Trabzon and Kurds in Harput, Muş, and Van not with Turks. Especially Kurds lay claim your Ancient Armenia as so-called Kurdistan State. Don't you know that?

Oh alright I think I get you now. You weren't trying to be bratty, it just comes natural. Every girl thinks that they have the "golden vagina". I guess that would include you?

There will never be such thing as a "Kurdish" state and if they try to claim Armenian land we'll roll right over them. What Peter O'Toole said about the Arabs also applies to the Kurds. They are "a little people, a silly people: greedy, barbarous and cruel." They will never amount to anything because they are a bunch of backwards villagers. The only thing the Armenians can hope is if they cause a civil war within Turkey.

[Kanki]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

The only thing the Armenians can hope is if they cause a civil war within Turkey.

Maybe

Turkish Army Forces and Kurdish rebels are incomparable

[Angessa]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

I dont kare who you are and where you come for but first you should put on some cloth before going out, it is a shame to show your lemons to the public in broad day light.They are bitter when you squeez them,be inteligent

My english is very horrible but compared to whatever your trying say I am a english educator. If your going to try insulting somone try to type it correctly becuase you just look like a fool. That goes for trying to insult somone intelligent, while spelling it wrong it just points out your unintelligent.

Okay now i'm convinced your a turk

I also do believe he is a turk or some very slow american( no offense to slow Americans). Was he pretending to be Armenian? Becuase clearly by his speech, ignorance and really foolish comments he is not even close.

[Illuminator]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

hey arm you just having started to queeze your spelling wright-wrong,slow-fast spelling traffic jam around ,fact you got pretty dull mama in your tongue,tell me when was your first time or you arent still domestic on these issues

It is so obvious you are a turk.

Why do you keep pretending we don't know you're a fake?

[yerazhishda]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Can someone ban this Turk already?

[Eric]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

What is wrong with you people There is allot going on around the world even near our borders. I would really like to see more informative posts in this thread instead of some childish insults.

Georgian army prospers at expense of western friends


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Georgian_BTR-80s.jpg

Tbilisi has already sent some 20 trucks with soldiers, 3 infantry fighting vehicle, 3 missile launch pads and artillery pieces to South Ossetia.

Georgian army prospers at the expense of western friends, Izvestia daily reports.

Most of Georgian officers were trained in the U.S. or Turkey. The country's military expenses increased by 30 times during past four years, making 9-10 per cent of the GDP. The defense budget has reached $1 billion.

U.S. military grants to Georgia total $40,6 million.

NATO member states, including Turkey and Bulgaria, supplied Georgia with 175 tanks, 126 armored carriers, 67 artillery pieces, 4 warplanes, 12 helicopters, 8 ships and boats. 100 armored carriers, 14 jets (including 4 Mirage 2000) fighters, 15 Black Hawk helicopters and 10 various ships are expected to be conveyed soon.

http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=26833

Georgian tanks head for South Ossetia


http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/01Gec4tfKeea8/610x.jpg

Georgia is reportedly moving tanks, artillery and troops to the border with its breakaway republic of South Ossetia. It follows days of shelling and skirmishes between the sides. Russia is leading diplomatic efforts to stop a full-scale conflict.

South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity said military scouts have detected about 20 tanks and a large number of other guns near the border.

Early on Thursday, he said, Georgia shelled the South Ossetian villages of Pris, Dmenis, and Sarabuk using artillery guns.

"The shelling caused very significant damages in Dmenis, and a number of civilians have been wounded," Kokoity said.

There was a 40-minute lull in the violence after Russian peacekeepers intervened. However, the two sides continued to exchange fire later.

Meanwhile, the command of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces in the conflict zone is holding ceasefire negotiations with the parties.

Vladimir Ivanov, aide to the commander of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces, said everything possible was being done to end the fighting.

"The command of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces is working with the parties to the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict with the aim of relieving tensions and preventing the firing," Ivanov said.

Ivanov added that the situation is currently calm in the conflict zone, and no gunfire is being observed.

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http://www.russiatoday.ru/news/news/28601

Georgia begins war to retake South Ossetia


http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0gV2d6H2QibUd/610x.jpg

Georgian forces have launched a massive military offensive to take control of its breakaway republic of South Ossetia. Heavy artillery is bombarding the capital Tskhinvali while fighter planes have attacked at least one village. Meanwhile, the UN Security Council has rejected a Russian-drafted statement calling on both sides to renounce violence.

South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity says his forces are still in control of the capital Tskhinvali despite reports to the contrary. Earlier, Imedi radio in Tbilisi reported that Georgian forces had seized the city.

In a televised address on Friday, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili accused Russian war planes of bombing Georgian villages inside and outside the confict zone. He said the nation's reserve forces had been mobilized in a bid 'save the country'. He also claimed Georgian forces had seized most of South Ossetia.

In Moscow, President Medvedev has met top advisers to discuss ways of ending the violence. He says a top priority is protecting South Ossetia’s civilian population – many of whom hold Russian passports.

In New York, the UN Security Council has failed to agree on a draft resolution calling on both sides in the conflict to end the violence. The Russian-drafted resolution was blocked by the US, Britain and other members of the 15-member council.

Military onslaught

Georgian Su-25 attack planes are bombing the South Ossetian village of Kvernet, according to local officials. They also claim Georgia is using truck-mounted missile launchers to shell the centre of Tskhinvali.

Georgian troops heading to Tskhinvali
AFP Photo / Vano Shlamov
North Ossetia's President Teimuraz Mamsurov has accused Georgian forces of hitting a humanitarian aid convoy travelling from his country to South Ossetia.

More than 15 civilians have been killed in overnight clashes, according to preliminary reports.

South Ossetian sources say Georgia is sending vast amounts of military hardware to the region.

"A column of Georgian tanks and infantry is moving toward Tskhinvali. A large part of the city has already been destroyed," the administration's press service said.

Georgian armoured vehicle
AFP Photo / Vano Shlamov
Several buildings are on fire in central Tskhinvali, and the local parliament building has burned down, the statement said.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has called up the country’s reserve force.

"The mobilization of reserve troops has been declared and is ongoing," he said.

More than 100,000 reserve soldiers aged 25-45 have received military training in Georgia in the past few years.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Gurgenidze said the military operation against South Ossetia would continue until peace is established, reports Russia’s Ria news agency.

"The goal of Georgia's actions in the conflict zone to establish peace in the region. And we will not stop until we have attained this goal," he’s reported to have said.

Russian casualties

It’s been confirmed that some Russian peacekeepers working in the region have been killed in the fighting, although exact figures have not yet been released.

Yuri Popov - co-chairman of the joint control commission of the Russian Foreign Ministry for settling the conflict – told the Itar-Tass news agency: "The headquarters of the peacekeeping forces have been partially destroyed".

In the meantime, in Moscow, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is heading a meeting aimed at halting the violence.

The Kremlin press service issued a statement saying the meeting was also focusing on measures to protect the civilian population and Russian citizens in the conflict zone.

The statement went on to say that Russian peacekeepers “have a mandate…to safeguard Russian interests in the region".

UN Security Council in stalemate over the conflict

And the United Nations Security Council has failed to agree on a statement drafted by Russia, calling on Georgia and South Ossetia to immediately end the violence.

Russia called an emergency session of the 15-nation council. Two hours of talks were held behind closed doors late on Thursday in New York. The session continued with an open meeting and public speeches by Russia, Georgia and other council members for another hour.

At the meeting, Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the Georgian leadership had lost the international community's trust as a result of its military operation.

"All of Tbilisi's actions have fully undermined the credit of trust vested in the Georgian leadership as a committed party in the negotiations and in international dealings that meet the UN principles and charter," he stressed.

Diplomats say the Security Council reached a stalemate after the United States, Britain and some other members backed Georgia in rejecting a phrase in the statement requiring both sides to ‘renounce the use of force.’

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http://www.russiatoday.ru/news/news/28640

www.russiatoday.ru/news/news/28640/video

[Eric]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Georgia says it controls most of South Ossetia


http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/georgia/images/georgia-area.gif


Georgia is claiming it has seized control of almost all the towns and villages in its breakaway republic of South Ossetia. It follows a major ground and air offensive involving fighter jets, tanks, heavy artillery and infantry. The capital Tskhinvali and surrounding villages have come under sustained bombardment.

Georgia’s military action has sparked condemnation from Russia, which has warned of ‘emergency measures’ to end the conflict.

South Ossetia earlier said 15 people had been killed in attacks. Several buildings were reported to be on fire in the city centre after repeated Georgian shelling. The parliament building has been burned down.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said his country had ‘liberated’ South Ossetia from separatists, and that Russia was bombing Georgian villages.

South Ossetia declared independence after the Soviet Union collapsed in the 1990s, but Georgia rejected the move and an armed conflict ensued.

Georgia later ordered a temporary ceasefire to allow civilians flee the conflict zone. The Red Cross asked for the moratoruim so it could distribute aid to those caught in the crossfire.

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http://www.russiatoday.ru/news/news/28652

http://www.russiatoday.ru/news/news/28652/video

Georgia claims control over most of South Ossetia in major attack- 2

MOSCOW, August 8 (RIA Novosti) - Georgia said on Friday it had seized control over almost all towns and villages in its breakaway republic of South Ossetia, following a major ground and air offensive. (PHOTOS)

The Georgian military attacked South Ossetia's capital of Tskhinvali early in the morning with tanks, heavy artillery and infantry, sparking condemnation from Russia, which has warned of "emergency measures" to end the conflict. South Ossetia earlier said 15 people had been killed in the attacks, several buildings were on fire in the city center, and the local parliament building had burned down

Georgian Reunification Minister Temur Yakobashvili said the military was continuing its offensive in Tskhinvali. However, he denied reports that Georgian planes had been bombing the city.

"There is no bombing of Tskhinvali. Street battles are continuing in the city, involving our soldiers. We do not plan to bomb our own servicemen in Tskhinvali," he told a video linkup hosted by RIA Novosti.

The rebel administration had said Georgian Su-25 Frogfoot attack planes had bombed the South Ossetian village of Kvernet as well as a humanitarian aid convoy.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili gave a starkly contrasting version of events, saying Georgia had "liberated" South Ossetia from separatists, and that Russia was bombing Georgian villages.

"Most of South Ossetia's territory has been liberated and is now controlled by Georgia... I call on Russia to stop bombarding peaceful Georgian towns," he said in a televised address to the nation.

The Georgian offensive came the morning after Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili declared a unilateral ceasefire, and after the UN Security Council gathered for an emergency meeting.

Georgian PM Lado Gurgenidze said that Georgia had launched the attack on Tskhinvali after South Ossetian separatists had broken the ceasefire and attacked Georgian villages.

Peacekeeping commanders in South Ossetia said the Georgian military had shelled their headquarters in Tskhinvali, killing and injuring several Russian peacekeepers and destroying several barracks.

Georgia's Interior Ministry had earlier claimed that South Ossetian separatists were planning to attack Russian peacekeepers in order to bring Russia into the conflict.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, currently on a visit to Beijing for the start of the Olympics, warned that Georgia's actions would meet a "response."

He said he had discussed the issue with U.S. President George W. Bush and top Chinese officials, who had agreed that full-scale war must be prevented.

At the Security Council session, Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin called on the council to intervene to stop violence in the region.

The Kremlin also held emergency talks on the conflict, and said it was considering urgent measures to end the attack on South Ossetia.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev "is heading a meeting to discuss a series of urgent measures to stop the violence in South Ossetia, to protect the civilian population and Russian citizens in the conflict zone," the Kremlin press service said. Many residents of South Ossetia hold Russian citizenship.

Georgian Prime Minister Vladimir Gurgenidze said Georgia would continue its military operation until peace was established.

"The goal of Georgia's actions in the conflict zone is to establish peace in the region. And we will not stop until we have attained this goal," he said. (VIDEO)

He said the country would offer an amnesty to South Ossetia's leaders, and provide over $35 million in reconstruction aid for the province after the establishment of Georgian control.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20080808/115892849.html

useful links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBZXTZkOd_w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfQf6MZTBZc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reuhlteq0VM

[Eric]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Russian troops near S.Ossetia capital, 10 peacekeepers killed


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VLADIKAVKAZ, August 8 (RIA Novosti) - Russian troops are approaching the capital of breakaway South Ossetia to help peacekeepers amid a spiraling conflict with Georgia, which tried to regain control of the region Friday, a top military spokesman said.

Colonel Igor Konashenkov, an aide to the Russian Ground Forces commander, said around 10 Russian peacekeepers have been killed and 30 wounded in the province since Georgia launched a major offensive overnight using tanks, combat aircraft, heavy artillery and infantry.

"Units of the 58th Army have set off to help Russian peacekeepers, they are approaching Tskhinvali," Konashenkov said.

He said Georgian tanks are firing at the Russian peacekeeping headquarters.

"Georgian troops are shooting Russian peacekeepers and civilians at observation posts they have seized," he said. "Vicious fighting is going on in the area of Tskhinvali, where Georgian tanks are firing at the peacekeepers' headquarters and base from close by."

Earlier reports confirmed by the Russian Defense Ministry said a convoy of Russian tanks and armored vehicles had entered Tskhinvali. Eyewitnesses said some 100 Russian tanks and armored vehicles crossed the Russian border.

Georgia's Interior Ministry said earlier Russian aircraft dropped two bombs near the Vaziani military airbase in a Tbilisi suburb, reporting no injuries. There was no immediate confirmation from Russia that it had sent bombers into the area.

Georgia's pro-Western president, Mikheil Saakashvili, said in a television interview with CNN on Friday that Russia was fighting a war with his country.

And the country's Foreign Ministry called on the international community "to make it clear to Russia that invading a sovereign country's territory is unacceptable in the 21st century."

Senior Russian lawmakers and officials earlier urged a military operation to end the violence as the Russian-led peacekeeping contingent was insufficient to ensure peace in the region.

And Russia's president and premier vowed retaliation for what they called "the Georgian aggression" and punishment for those who kill Russian nationals in South Ossetia.

Separatist officials said Tskhinvali has suffered major destruction, and reported 15 civilian deaths. Georgia said three soldiers had been killed and about 17 wounded by separatist forces.

NATO, the European Union and the United States, a key ally of Georgia, all issued statements urging Georgia and South Ossetia to bring an end to the conflict.

There has been no Western reaction to the advance by Russian troops so far.

President Saakashvili, who is seeking NATO membership for Georgia, has pledged to bring South Ossetia, home to around 80,000 people, along with breakaway Abkhazia, back under central control, and has accused Russia of trying to annex the regions.

Russia has maintained its peacekeeping contingent in Georgia's breakaway republics, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, since the bloody post-Soviet conflicts in the early 1990s.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has ordered humanitarian aid be provided to those affected by the conflict, the Kremlin said Friday

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080808/115903809.html

http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/bomber/su24/su24_03.jpg

Russian fighter jets bomb Georgian town of Gori

On August 8 morning, four Russian fighter jets entered Georgian airspace and bombed the towns of Gori and Kareli near the breakaway region of South Ossetia, Rustavi -2 Georgian TV Channel reported. One of the jets was shot down, it said.
Georgian Ministry of Interior said that three Su-24 crossed Georgian airspace and threw down two bombs. No information on victims is provided.

http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=26829&page=1

Saakashvili called on Russia to stop bombing Georgia

Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili urged Russia to stop bombing Georgian towns. "It's nothing but a classic international aggression," he said Friday, announcing general mobilization.
"Georgia was subjected to a full armed aggression. But we will never cede our lands. Most of South Ossetian territory is under Georgian control. Battles are going on in the center of Tskhinvali. We must not fear. We defend our fatherland and we will win. Long live Georgia," Saakashvili said, Novosti Georgia reports.

http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=26831&page=1

Georgia threatens Russia with war

Georgia's National Security Council on Friday warned that Moscow and Tbilisi will be in "a state of war" if reports of Russian tanks, military trucks and troops entering South Ossetia prove true.
"If it's true that Russian troops and armaments have been sent to Georgia, it means that we are in a state of war with Russia," Alexander Lomaia, secretary of the security council, said.
The warning was issued as dozens of Russian tanks, trucks and troops were seen heading towards South Ossetia, travelling through North Ossetia, AFP reports.

http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=26846

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

This is it. Moscow better get this one right: No limited engagement bullshit. Moscow has the moral and legal right to carry out full scale military operations within Ossetia, Abkhazia and Georgia to ensure the safety of its citizens, to ensure the protection of Abkhazians and Ossetians and to finanlly destroy NATO plans for the Caucasus region.

Hail Mother Russia!

Armenian

************************************

Putin Says `War Has Started,' Georgia Claims Invasion

(In this image, made from television , what Russian First Channel claims - burning Georgian armored vehicles are seen in Tskhinvali in the South Ossetian Georgian enclave on Friday, Aug. 8, 2008. Georgia launched a massive attack Friday to regain control over South Ossetia, using heavy artillery, aircraft and armor. South Ossetian officials said at least 15 people were killed Friday and an unspecified number were wounded.)

Raw Video: Russia Battling Georgia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4AD6mOZm9I

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said ``war has started'' over the breakaway region of South Ossetia as Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili accused its neighbor of a "well-planned invasion.'' Saakashvili said in a Bloomberg Television interview that his nation of 4.6 million people is "fighting to secure its borders'' amid a ``full-blown military aggression'' involving thousands of Russian troops. Aerial bombings and wide-spread fighting in and around the region killed an unknown number of civilians and wounded "scores'' more, Saakashvili said. Putin earlier today told U.S. President George W. Bush in Beijing that "volunteers'' were pouring over the border to help defend South Ossetia from Georgian forces, according to Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. "War started today in South Ossetia'' when Georgia attacked Russian peacekeepers in the disputed region, Putin said. The Defense Ministry later said it deployed "reinforcements'' in the region. The ruble dropped the most against the dollar in 8 1/2 years and Russian stocks tumbled today on concern the conflict will worsen. The U.K., European Union and NATO, which Georgia is seeking to join, all called on both sides to end hostilities. The U.S. called for an immediate cease-fire.

`NATO Hopes'

"Georgia's immediate NATO hopes have all but evaporated,'' Dominic Fean, a researcher at IFRI, the French Institute of International Affairs, said by telephone. "Countries like Germany and France were already resistant to the idea of giving a NATO security guarantee to a country with an open dispute with Russia. I can't see how they can get the consensus of 26 states anytime soon.'' South Ossetia, which has a population of about 70,000 and is less than half the size of Kosovo, broke away from U.S.- backed Georgia in the early 1990s and now is a de facto independent state with Russian peacekeepers and economic support. The peacekeepers are deployed under a Commonwealth of Independent States mandate. "We will not allow the deaths of our compatriots to go unpunished,'' Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, 42, said on state television after the Interfax news service said Russian troops were killed in Georgian shelling of a barracks and checkpoint. "The guilty will get the punishment they deserve.''

Iraq Pullout

Georgia called today for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council on South Ossetia. "We've been encouraging everyone involved and every international party to engage in talks for years, months, days, hours,'' Georgian Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze said by telephone. "What we get is another column of Russian tanks.'' Georgia, the third-largest member of the allied coalition in Iraq after the U.S. and U.K., will bring home half of its 2,000 soldiers from the Middle East country in the next few days, Kakha Lomaia, head of Georgia's Security Council, said by telephone. The Georgian contingent is stationed in Al-Khut, 185 kilometers (114 miles) southeast of Baghdad. Fighting escalated throughout the day, with Russian planes dropping four bombs on the Vaziani military base, which the North Atlantic Treaty Organization uses for training, Lomaia said. The base is about 15 kilometers from the Georgian capital.

Russian Tanks

Georgian forces have shot down three Russian planes since the fighting began, Lomaia said. Russia earlier bombed two Georgian towns, Gori and Kareli, he said. Russia's Foreign Ministry denied the bombing claim. The Defense Ministry denied losing aircraft. Russian troops occupied parts of the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali, Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said by telephone. Russian television showed tanks heading over the border to South Ossetia from the Russian region of North Ossetia at about 3:30 p.m. Moscow time. "We find ourselves in a situation similar to where the Czechs were in 1968, to where the Hungarians found themselves in 1956,'' Lomaia said. "All we can do is defend our freedom.'' Georgia last month increased the size of its military to 37,000 soldiers and today Saakashvili called up reservists and urged the nation to defend "every meter'' of land. Russia has a standing army of about 1.1 million.

`Energy Corridor'

"Fighting continues,'' Russian Major General Marat Kulakhmetov, commander of Russia's peacekeeping forces in South Ossetia, said by mobile phone. The peacekeepers have suffered casualties, although it's too early to say how many, he said. Georgia is a key link in a U.S.-backed ``southern energy corridor'' that links the Caspian Sea region with world markets, bypassing Russia, the world's biggest energy producer. Two pipelines pass through the country linking Azerbaijan and Turkey. The BP Plc-led Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, which has been closed since Aug. 5 due to an explosion in Turkey, runs about 100 kilometers south of the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali. The most recent violence in the region erupted on Aug. 1, when South Ossetia said Georgian shelling of the regional capital Tskhinvali claimed six lives. Georgia said South Ossetian forces sparked the fighting. "The conflict might be short and hot, but my sense is that neither party wants a prolonged conflict,'' said Michael Denison, associate fellow at London-based research group Chatham House and a professor of international security at the University of Leeds.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...EQs&refer=home

Russia bombs Georgian troops on offensive in rebel province

(A Russian fighter attacks a Georgian position near the city of Tskhinvali, 100 km (62 miles) from Tbilisi, August 8, 2008. Georgia's interior ministry said three Russian jets entered Georgian airspace and "dropped bombs" at two locations just south of breakaway South Ossetia, where fighting raged on Friday.)

Russian tanks and troops entered Georgia's breakaway South Ossetia province on Friday to repel a Georgian military offensive to reclaim the region amid fighting said to have left hundreds dead. Moscow vowed retaliation to defend Russians in the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali hit by the Georgian artillery and air assault -- the worst fighting since the 1992-94 separatist war in the region. Amid spiralling tensions that the main European security watchdog warned were heading for "all out war", the Georgian government acknowledged it was already losing newly won areas of Tskhinvali that were bombarded by Russian forces. South Ossetian separatist leader Eduard Kokoity said hundreds of civilians have been killed in the fighting and the international Red Cross said Tskhinvali hospitals were overflowing with casualties.

"If this is not war, then I wonder what is," Georgia's ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) was quoted as telling a special meeting of the organisation's permanent council in Vienna. The European Union, NATO and United States all called for a halt to hostilities. The UN Security Council was to meet again after failing to agree a similar statement. South Ossetia broke from Georgia in the early 1990s and has since been a constant source of friction between Georgia and Russia. The Tblisi government accuses Moscow of wanting to take over the province, and launched its new assault in an apparent bid to stamp its authority on South Ossetia. During the night, an AFP reporter saw Georgian forces fire more than a dozen missiles towards South Ossetia from inside Georgia and witnessed helicopters and hundreds of soldiers in trucks moving towards the region.

The Russian military said more than 10 Russian peacekeepers had been killed in Tskhinvali when Georgian shells hit their barracks, Russia's Interfax news agency reported. "As a result of the hours-long shelling of Tskhinvali by heavy weaponry, the city is almost totally destroyed," General Marat Kulakhmetov, commander of Russian peacekeeping forces, was quoted as saying by Interfax. In response, Russia sent dozens of tanks and troop carriers to the South Ossetia border and the defence ministry in Moscow confirmed that "reinforcements" had been sent into the province. "We cannot allow the deaths of our countrymen to go unpunished. The guilty parties will receive the punishment they deserve," Russia President Dmitry Medvedev said earlier. "They have in effect begun hostilities using tanks and artillery," Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said in Beijing where he attended the Olympics opening ceremony. "It is sad, but this will provoke retaliatory measures."

Dozens of wounded Georgian soldiers arrived at the military hospital in the Georgian city of Gori, returning from the offensive. An AFP reporter saw trucks arriving every 30 seconds on Friday afternoon, each carrying up to five wounded soldiers -- many unconscious and bleeding -- as ambulances raced back to the front line for more. Georgian soldiers speaking under condition of anonymity said they had come under heavy fire from Russian aircraft after surrounding Tskhinvali. "Russian armed forces are bombarding Tskhinvali," Georgian Interior Ministry pokesman, Shota Utiashvili, told AFP. "We have lost control over some parts of the city," he added. Georgia said it had shot down five Russian jets and that Russian aircraft had attacked a military base near Tbilisi. Russia denied it had lost any planes or that it had staged operations in Georgia.

Georgia's National Security Council warned there would be "a state of war" between the two countries if Russia entered South Ossetia. President Mikheil Saakashvili warned of "large-scale military intervention" and called for a mass mobilisation. "We are a freedom-loving nation right now under attack," he said. Georgia's Foreign Minister Ekaterine Tkeshelashvili told the BBC that Tbilisi was appealing to world leaders to press Moscow to stop "direct military aggression" on its territory. The International Committee of the Red Cross called for a "humanitarian corridor" to be opened in South Ossetia to allow ambulances to evacuate the wounded. "Ambulances cannot move, hospitals are reported to be overflowing, surgery is taking place in corridors," an ICRC spokeswoman told journalists in Geneva.

People are sheltering in their basements with no electricity or access to communications, she added. "This morning, a UNHCR staff member reported that many buildings and houses have been destroyed and that only military personnel are moving on the streets," spokesman Ron Redmond said. "Water is also in short supply -- a chronic problem, worsened by recent events -- most transport has stopped and shops are running out of food," he added. The OSCE's chairman, Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, said the fighting in South Ossetia "risks escalation into a full-fledged war." The United States said its 100 military trainers in Georgia were not involved in the conflict and that it was sending an envoy to South Ossetia to join international mediation efforts. It joined the European Union, NATO and a host of world powers calling for an immediate ceasefire. Putin said he had discussed the crisis with Chinese leaders and with US President George W. Bush. "Everybody agrees -- nobody wants to see a war. "In recent months, Moscow and Tbilisi have sparred repeatedly over South Ossetia and another breakaway Georgian region, Abkhazia.

Source: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5...9izLJRjYT1ATkA

[Angessa]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

This is it. Moscow better get this one right: No limited engagement bullshit. Moscow has the moral and legal right to carry out full scale military operations within Ossetia, Abkhazia and Georgia to ensure the safety of its citizens, to ensure the protection of Abkhazians and Ossetians and to finanlly destroy NATO plans for the Caucasus region.

It wont make any difference. We will still be blamed for aggression for defending are selves and Ossetia, Abkhazia. I already see the comments bashing Russia and there aggression on those links and video. "We started this", we invaded Georgia first", we want control of Georgia" etc" The news reports from fox shows footage of Georgia attacking Ossetia and they say that it's footage of us attacking Georgia while showing there death count( well none for the Ossetia death count) What coward they are to use the summer games as a cover up to invade, when the world is to come together in peace and forget about politics.