Russia Ends Offensive Against `Aggressor' Georgia

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Russia Ends Offensive Against `Aggressor' Georgia (Update4)

By Helena Bedwell and Henry Meyer
Enlarge Image/Details

Aug. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev halted five days of military action in Georgia, Russia's first foreign offensive since the Cold War ended in 1991, defusing a dispute that threatened to draw in the West.

``The aggressor has been punished,'' Medvedev said today. Russia has secured the safety of its peacekeepers and citizens in the disputed regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Medvedev said on state television.

Russia sent tanks, troops and warplanes into Georgia on Aug. 8 in what it said was a response to a Georgian offensive on South Ossetia, which won de facto independence from Georgia after a war in the early 1990s. Russian forces crossed into Georgia's heartland for the first time yesterday and took several towns and a military base, drawing criticism from President George W. Bush. More than 2,000 people were killed in the fighting, according to Russian estimates. The United Nations Refugee Agency said almost 100,000 people have fled the conflict.

The military thrust threatened to drag the U.S. into confrontation with its former Cold War foe. Bush backs Georgia's bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which Russia views as a security threat. The West sees Georgia as a key ally in the region, in part because it has a pipeline that carries Caspian Sea crude oil to Western markets and bypasses Russia.

``Russia has come out looking like a victor,'' said Alexei Malashenko, an analyst from the Moscow Carnegie Center. ``If it had continued, the war wouldn't have been popular in Russia, not to speak of the negative reaction in the West.''

Fighter Jet Strikes

As Russian troops kept control of territory inside Georgia, Georgian Deputy Interior Minister Eka Zhguladze said two districts near the central city of Gori were under attack by Russian fighter jets as of 3 p.m. local time. While Russia has stopped offensive operations, sporadic strikes are continuing, Anatoly Nogovitsyn, the deputy head of Russia's General Staff, said earlier. Medvedev ordered Russian forces to destroy any ``pockets of resistance.''

The ruble surged the most in seven years, Russia's Micex Index climbed, and the cost of protecting the country's bonds fell after Medvedev halted the Georgian military operation.

The 30-stock Micex erased a decline of as much as 2 percent and oil extended its drop after Medvedev said military action in Georgia had achieved the country's goals.

Bush criticized Russia yesterday for pushing into central Georgia. ``I am deeply concerned by reports that Russian troops have moved beyond the zone of conflict,'' Bush said. ``It now appears that an effort may be under way to depose Georgia's duly elected government.''

Sarkozy in Moscow

Georgia welcomed Medvedev's decision, which came as French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country holds the rotating European Union presidency, arrived in Moscow to seek a cease- fire agreement.

``It's great, if that's what they said,'' Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze said by phone in Tbilisi. ``I just hope that it's because they realize just how badly their name and reputation were damaged in the eyes of the world by doing what they've done.''

In an indication that Russia intends to impose tough terms on Georgia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called for a de-militarized zone on the Georgian side of the border with Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Abkhazia also broke away from central Georgian control in the early 1990s. This followed the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991 that brought an end to its political, economic and military opposition to the West.

Sarkozy told Medvedev at the start of their Kremlin talks that it was important to implement the cease-fire and that Russia now must withdraw its troops from Georgia to their positions prior to the conflict. Russia must be a ``force for peace,'' Sarkozy said.

Withdraw Forces

Russia says that Georgia must sign a legally binding non- aggression pact with South Ossetia, a self-proclaimed republic of 70,000 people, most with Russian passports. Georgia must also withdraw its forces from military bases it used to stage its attack on the disputed region, which is about half the size of Kosovo, Lavrov said. Georgian peacekeepers would not be allowed to return to South Ossetia.

The Russian minister also said that U.S.-backed Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili should step down. Russia refuses to negotiate with Saakashvili because it has ``no trust'' in him and because he's a ``criminal,'' Lavrov said. ``It will be best if he left.''

Saakashvili, a 40-year-old U.S.-educated lawyer who came to power in 2003, forged an alliance with the U.S. and pursued a goal of joining NATO, ignoring Russian warnings. In April, NATO leaders promised Georgia and fellow former Soviet republic Ukraine eventual membership, while declining to offer them fast- track status.

Russia's Upper Hand

In a sign of Russia's upper hand, Russian forces are continuing reconnaissance activities in Georgia and disarming Georgian police in the town of Zugdidi, just across the border from Abkhazia, Nogovitsyn told reporters in Moscow.

The Russian military still controls the Georgian air base of Senaki, 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Abkhazia, he said.

Russian warplanes attacked a section of BP Plc's Baku- Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline in Georgia today, said Kakha Lomaia, head of Georgia's National Security Council. BP said it was unaware of any bomb damage and the Russian Defense Ministry denied the claim.

Medvedev has defended Russia's campaign as an obligatory response to what it terms the ``genocide'' waged by Georgia in South Ossetia. Most of the dead were civilians killed by Georgian military action, according to Russia. Saakashvili accused Russia of carrying out a ``well-planned'' invasion and pleaded for Western help throughout the conflict.

To contact the reporters on this story: Helena Bedwell in Tbilisi at hbedwell@bloomberg.net; Henry Meyer in Moscow at Hmeyer4@bloomberg.net.