News

Ekaterina Tkeshelashvili, Foreign Minister of Georgia, believes that a possible unilateral recognition by Russia of independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia will mean nothing. However, experts think that Russia can find allies amidst the world community.

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has refuted the statement made by Colonel-General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff of Russian Armed Forces, according to which the OSCE had known the date of Georgia's attack on South Ossetia but failed to warn Russian peacekeepers.

Tskhinvali suffered a lot in the warfare in the capital of South Ossetia from bombardments, but the majority of houses survived, in many respects thanks to Russia's support, as the Ossetian civil guardsmen and journalists who visited the battlefield report.

John Beyrle, US Ambassador to the Russian Federation, believes that Russia was absolutely reasonable in responding to the attack of Georgia on Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia.

The Russian-language RTVi television channel, which was stopped on August 19 after broadcasting the interview of Sergey Lavrov, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, to the "Echo Moskvy" Radio dealing with the conflict in South Ossetia and future Russia-Georgia relations, has resumed its broadcasting. In that interview, Mr Lavrov justified the invasion of troops into Georgia.

Today, Russian and Georgian militaries exchanged their prisoners of war at the building of hospital in the city of Gori. 17 Georgians were exchanged for 10 Russian soldiers.

Today, the Parliament of South Ossetia has adopted an appeal to President of Russia and Federal Assembly with a request to recognize the independence of this republic.

Anatoly Serdyukov, Russian Minister of Defence of Russia has reported to the Supreme Commander in Chief - President of Russia - that the withdrawal of the Russian military units, which had been attached to the peacekeeping contingent, of which Dmitri Medvedev stated on August 17, is over.

Chechen investigatory bodies have cancelled the federal search of Sulim Yamadaev, former commander of the "Vostok" (East) battalion of the 42nd Motorized Rifle Division of the Ministry of Defence, reported today the official spokesman of the Investigatory Department of the Investigatory Committee at the Russian Prosecutor's Office for Chechnya.

Conductor Valery Gergiev, head of the Mariinsky Theatre, said on August 21 after the concert-requiem performed by his orchestra in Tskhinvali that now the capital of South Ossetia resembles the post-war Stalingrad by the scale of its ruins.

The Investigatory Committee at the Russian Prosecutor's Office has stated that all the Georgian militaries perished in South Ossetia from fragmental and bullet wounds. The Chairman of the Committee Boris Salmaksov has asserted that under their information the bodies of Georgian soldiers have no other damages.

According to the Ministry for Emergencies, more than 500 refugees, 150 children among them, have returned to South Ossetia during the last 24 hours from the temporary accommodation centres located in the south of Russia.

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called Russia to urgently clear the Georgian territory of unexploded bombs, which are a threat to the peaceful population.

Members of some Chechen, Ingush and Russian human rights organizations have addressed Russian Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin in the context of his comments on the events in South Ossetia, inviting him to recollect the recent events in Chechnya.

Abkhazia has sent an application of the republic's president and parliament to Russia asking to recognize its independence, President Sergey Bagapsh has announced. Leader of South Ossetia Eduard Kokoity has also prepared an appeal to President of Russia with a request to recognize the independence of his republic.

Today, as a result of negotiations between Georgian officials and Russian militaries, 63 peaceful residents of Georgian villages of South Ossetia have been released.

Beating of Grach Melkumyan, acting head of the Yerevan office of Radio Liberty, same as beating of Lusine Barsegyan, journalist of the "Aikakan Zhamanak" newspaper, demonstrate that nothing changes in Armenia, and the authorities pay no attention to the resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

Again, the Security Council of the United Nations could not adopt the resolution on Georgia. This time, a number of Council members refused to support the draft resolution on situation in Georgia, which was brought to consideration by the Russian delegation.

After Russia had launched its armed operation in the context of the intervention of Georgian troops into Tskhinvali, residents of the villages controlled by Georgia started to report about facts of revenge by residents of South Ossetia, complaining about nationality-motivated murders of Georgians. Observers remark that the victims of this short but severe war from both parties had lived through ethnically motivated sufferings.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) asks the government of Georgia to unblock the broadcasting of Russian TV Channels and web-sites in the territory of Georgia.