The release of the OSCE report which disputes Georgia's claims about the start of the August invasion by Russia has obviously caused quite a stir, and started a whole new series of arguments from some unwitting pro-war apologists among American liberal camps (case in point), seeking to push the new president-elect Barack Obama far clear of Russia's reclaimed "sphere of influence." Melik Kaylan has a good piece which clarifies some of the problematic thinking going on over the Russia-Georgia issue in light of the new reports, and reminds us not to overestimate either the influence of Mikheil Saakashvili in the Bush White House, nor underestimate the incompetence and disinterest of the Bushies in undertaking such Machiavellian fantasies abroad. There is an additional misconception that underlies much of the programmatic left/right, Democrat/GOP, détente/Cold War binary thinking on the matter: that the Bush administration encouraged Saakashvili to confront the ...

This bit comes from Rose Gottemoeller in the Moscow Times: Obama and Medvedev would do well early in their relationship to make some policy decisions that would sharply break with Cold War patterns. For example, although Obama would not have assumed command of the U.S. military when Russia's naval flotilla completes its exercises off Venezuela in mid-November, he could suggest that the Pentagon invite the Russian commanders to stop off at Central Command in Florida before their return to Russia. The purpose of the stop would be to discuss urgent issues that are engaging both navies, such as the piracy that is running rampant off Somalia. And Medvedev, although he would have to push back against Kremlin hard-liners, could recommend that Moscow and Washington have some urgent issues to work on together with Tbilisi. Smuggling through South Ossetia has been a persistent problem, and it has at times involved that most ...

The Irish TimesJASON CORCORAN in Moscow Saturday, October 11, 2008EU MONITORS in Georgia have confirmed that Russian forces have dismantled 17 checkpoints, one signals post and one military base in zones adjacent to breakaway regions Abkhazia and South Ossetia.But, while EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said yesterday Russian troops have completed their withdrawal from the areas in line with yesterday's deadline,French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner complained that Russia still occupies three disputed pockets of land - Akhalgori and Perevi in South Ossetia, and the Kodori Gorge in Abkhazia - areas that were under Georgian control before hostilities broke out.Col Dorcha Lee, a former army officer and veteran of UN peacekeeping missions in Lebanon, the Middle East and Serbia who heads the Irish group in the 200-strong European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) admits that their work is difficult and breaking ...

The Irish TimesJASON CORCORAN in Moscow Saturday, October 11, 2008EU MONITORS in Georgia have confirmed that Russian forces have dismantled 17 checkpoints, one signals post and one military base in zones adjacent to breakaway regions Abkhazia and South Ossetia.But, while EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said yesterday Russian troops have completed their withdrawal from the areas in line with yesterday's deadline,French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner complained that Russia still occupies three disputed pockets of land - Akhalgori and Perevi in South Ossetia, and the Kodori Gorge in Abkhazia - areas that were under Georgian control before hostilities broke out.Col Dorcha Lee, a former army officer and veteran of UN peacekeeping missions in Lebanon, the Middle East and Serbia who heads the Irish group in the 200-strong European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) admits that their work is difficult and breaking ...

TODAY: Georgian authorities to protest to the European Union about violations of the Sarkozy-Medvedev agreement by Russia; Corruption in Russia is at its worst for eight years, watchdog Transparency International states; Georgia states it had shot down a Russian reconnaissance drone over Georgian territory just south of South Ossetia; Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez arrives in China for a three-day state visit, part of a world tour including Russia, Portugal and France; . Georgian dignitaries today propose to protest to the European Union about “violations of the Sarkozy-Medvedev agreement by Russia.” Tbilisi has stressed that the agreement was violated in the village of Khurcha, a region near the border with Abkhazia, where one Georgian policeman has died and two were wounded in gunfire issuing from as of now unknown sources. Shota Utiashvili, head of the Georgian Interior Ministry information department, told ...

TODAY: Georgian authorities to protest to the European Union about violations of the Sarkozy-Medvedev agreement by Russia; Corruption in Russia is at its worst for eight years, watchdog Transparency International states; Georgia states it had shot down a Russian reconnaissance drone over Georgian territory just south of South Ossetia; Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez arrives in China for a three-day state visit, part of a world tour including Russia, Portugal and France; . Georgian dignitaries today propose to protest to the European Union about “violations of the Sarkozy-Medvedev agreement by Russia.” Tbilisi has stressed that the agreement was violated in the village of Khurcha, a region near the border with Abkhazia, where one Georgian policeman has died and two were wounded in gunfire issuing from as of now unknown sources. Shota Utiashvili, head of the Georgian Interior Ministry information department, told ...

One of the best things about being the editor of this blog is that all kinds of people email me interesting stuff to post that often gets missed by the media. Case in point, I've exchanged a few emails with a reader from Tbilisi, who has notified me of some interesting events happening there this week, concerning not Russia's military activities in the country, but rather the businesses and economic interests which piggybacked across the border with the tanks to begin conducting business within Georgian sovereign territory, yet not officially subject to its legal jurisdiction or regulatory oversight. We report this here because it may be of interest to many of our international law readers who are interested in jurisdictional and regulatory questions in the context of invasion and occupation. Today at a press conference, Giorgi Arveladze, Chairman of the Georgian National Communications ...

A while back we wrote about the colossal diplomatic blunder Moscow was making when they thought that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization would be the ideal venue for them to drum up support for separatism and annexation in the Caucasus (having ignored a couple hundred years of Chinese history). Now it looks like Asia, led by Beijing, is pumping money into Tbilisi. Yes, that's about the exact opposite outcome the Kremlin was looking for... From the IHT: The Asian Development Bank, in which China plays a leading role, has extended a $40 million loan at the lowest possible rate to Georgia. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization - which includes China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan as well as Russia - refused to countenance Russia's recognition of two breakaway regions of Georgia. The rebuff of Putin is all the more striking because - ...

Yesterday Bob blogged about disaggregating Russia by focusing on high ranking stakeholders in the Kremlin rather than broad sanctions which would punish average citizens. Today, Gideon Rachman (who back in April predicted the war) mentions the visa issue as well in the Financial Times. Doesn't anybody remember how kind Russia was with visas for British citizens for the Champion's League match? Ah, it seems that an invasion and occupation can very quickly erase such small gestures of goodwill. The Russian government’s reluctance to occupy Tbilisi shows that there is still a debate going on in Moscow about how much international opprobrium the country can afford. Half a trillion dollars was wiped off the value of the Moscow stock exchange in the aftermath of the invasion of Georgia. The wealthy, Kremlin-connected elite would like to retain the privilege of having bank accounts in Switzerland, houses ...

The United States is confident that Georgia and Ukraine will become members of the NATO military alliance, a top US administration official stated earlier today. Russia's recognition of Georgian breakaway regions South Ossetia and Abkhazia has increased backing for Georgia and Ukraine's admission to the 26-member NATO alliance, stated the official, who wished to remain anonymous. These statements were made as US Vice President Dick Cheney held talks with Italian leaders. Cheney last week vowed Washington's backing for Baku, Tbilisi and Kiev during a tour of the region, and urged NATO to unite in order to ward off a return of "line-drawing" in Europe. He held weekend meetings with political and business leaders at a conference in Italy, including many of the top world oil executives. The official went on to state that the crisis in the former Soviet regions are "not just a US problem; all of Europe has a stake in ...