http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID={2C0AA2E1-0F69-4EEB-B0DC-6A0C5D9FE94
7})&language=EN
Prensa Latina
September 11, 2008
Putin: Washington Behind Georgia Aggression
Moscow - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
denounced on Thursday the fact that the United States
was the instigator of the Georgian aggression against
South Ossetia.
During a meeting with members of the Valdai
International Debate Club, Putin said that instead of
finding solutions to inter-ethnic contradictions,
Washington simply incited Georgia to aggression.
He added that the United States allocated substantial
resources to train Tbilisi's armed forces and sent a
large number of military trainers to Georgia.
At the gathering of the RIA Novosti agency, the
Foreign Policy and Defense Council, the Moscow News
weekly and the Russia on Global Policy and Russia
Profile magazines in the Black Sea city of Valdai,
Putin warned that Moscow was forced to respond to the
aggression.
"Is it that the world community want destabilization
in the North Caucasus or something?," he wondered.
During the meeting, Putin denied that the Russian
Federation was considering the eventual annexation of
Abkazia and South Ossetia.
He recalled that to avoid a massacre, the Kremlin
started an operation to impose peace on Tbilisi,
including 10,000 soldiers as a reinforcement of the
peacekeeping contingent, which was protecting local
residents.
At least 600 civilians and more than 70 members of the
peacekeeping contingent were killed in the Georgian
attack against Tskhinvali and other towns.
The Russian peacekeeping operation ended on August 12
with the invaders pullout, and on August 26 Moscow
recognized independence of the two separatist
republics.
Serbian News Network - SNN
[email protected]
http://www.antic.org/
