Russian General Says Presence of Foreign Ships "Does Not Contribute to the Settlement of the Situation" in Georgia
August 24, 2008 (LPAC)--Gen. Anatoli Nogovitsyn, the deputy chief of Russia's general staff, stated on Saturday that the imminent presence of American, Spanish, German and Polish ships in the Black Sea "does not contribute to the settlement of the situation." The U.S. ships, according to press accounts, were scheduled to deliver humanitarian aid to Georgia today.
In diplomatic and other developments in the region:
- Russian Foreign Minster Sergei Lavrov spoke by phone on Sunday with his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and said that Russia was prepared for "interaction" between Russian peacekeepers and OSCE observers within the security zone they have established around South Ossetia and Abkhazia, clarifying that such "interaction" does not mean replacing Russian forces by some other forces.
- Russian President Dmitri Medvedev today sent a letter of congratulations to Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko on Ukrainian Independence Day, in which Medvedev called for "a tangible strengthening of bilateral relations and a long-term economic partnership." Medvedev also emphasized: "Of no less significance, however, is that we jointly take into account each other's interests in the area of foreign policy and security," adding that a solution to the Sevastopol port issue is pressing. Yushchenko recently signed a decree requiring prior notification from Russia of all movements by naval vessels based in Sevastopol, and announced that Ukraine will not extend the lease terms, under which the Russian Black Sea Fleet is based at the Crimean port, beyond May 2017.
- Russian President Medvedev met with Jordan's King Abdullah, who is visiting Moscow, and thanked him for their intention to supply humanitarian aid to South Ossetia.
- French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called an EU summit for Sept. 1, to discuss the Georgian situation.
