Ukrainian President Yushchenko declares democratic sovereignty

Amid domestic political turmoil and neighboring geopolitical conflict, speaking through a translator, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko addressed the country's future plans for an independent and democratic Ukraine. Nearly two weeks ago, Ukraine's ruling coalition collapsed, and last year at this time the parliamentary elections put in place an 'orange' coalition featuring an alliance between the Yushchenko's party and the party of Prime Minister Julia Temeshinko. The recent Russian-Georgian conflict has caused international tension between Ukraine and Russia over the fact that Ukraine hosts Russia's Black Sea fleet and the transportation of energy supplies between Russia and Europe.

In the context of the Russian-Georgian conflict and pro-Russian forces active in the Krimean area, Yushchenko said that he is ready to fight and protect his sovereign nation and determine it's own defense and security policy. He strongly confirmed that his territory would never be used for any country to deploy nuclear weapons. Addressing the fears of communist presence in the government, Yushchenko did not understand how Prime Minister Temeshinko made their top partnership with communists because, he said, "there are no Ukrainian communists. These communists always represented interests of a different country."

Yushchenko confirmed his support of NATO, saying it is "the best model to guarantee security in the (Ukraine's) international coordinates". The President continued to declare his plan for a democratic Ukraine and integration into the European Union under the Association Agreement. The Association Agreements would include a free trade area and a start to negotiations of visa free access between the EU and Ukraine.

Georgia and Russia: The next step

Combat may have ceased in Georgia, but in Chris Dodd's (D-Conn.) view only one aspect of the conflict has been resolved.

"There are two ways to undermine, if not topple a democratic government. Either militarily, or by crushing and strangling the economy to make life so miserable, the mandate of the government comes into question," Dodd said today during a Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on the consequences of Russia's August invasion.

"Many expert observers believe that having failed in the first approach Russia now seems to have shifted towards the second."

Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns addressed the committee's concerns over the future of Georgia and Russia, the steps the Bush administration has taken, and the implications of the invasion that are still unfolding.

"We and our European partners have made clear there will be no business as usual with Russia... For our part the administration has withdrawn the 123 agreement on civil nuclear cooperation with Russia and suspended US-Russian bilateral military programs," said Burns.

Questions were raised over the humanitarian response in Georgia. Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) described how President Bush initially said that the Department of Defense would be head the effort which was contradicted when Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said responsibility fell on the State Department.

"It's a combined effort...the Defense Department took the early lead in moving humanitarian supplies to Georgia which was a natural step to take...but over time we have seen the state department taking the lead under Undersecretary Reuben Jeffrey and working with the Georgians to work on a long term plan for reconstruction," replied Burns.

The committee also discussed whether there were any warning signs or actions that could have been taken to avoid hostilities.

"I honestly don't think so. This is a crises and a set of tensions that has been building for some time...there were mistakes and miscalculations on all sides. We worked very hards both with the Russians and the Georgians government to urge restraint," said Burns.

Security in a Cyber World

The Internet has evolved into a tool of war.

"The Georgia-Russian conflict, perhaps, that is the first instance of a military action containing a clear cyber component. Denial-of-service attacks were launched by Russia against Georgia," said Deputy Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security Paul A. Schneider during a forum on the nation's cyber security posture.

"There were large swaths of Georgians that could not access any information about what was happening in their country. Government websites were defaced and the delivery of government information was seriously curtailed".

To meet high-tech threats such as these the DHS has rolled out a series of safety measures called the Cyber Initiative, with the goal of strengthening the security of both federal and private sector networks, operating and defending in real time, and expanding counter intelligence capabilities against foreign governments.

"Intelligence is one of our best preventative tools. I don't have to go into any detail, you all know the examples...up through World War II with the use of radar. We need to have similar types of tools in order to make better use of intelligence in the cyber domain in order to stop our adversaries before they can launch attacks against us,' said Schneider.

Another important aspect of the initiative is to create a more centralized manner of dealing with cyber threats. The National Security Cyber Center has been recently created to coordinate protection across the federal networks, including the .mil and .gov domains.

Schneider addressed concerns that the initiative could violate the privacy of citizens.

"If someone is seeking to access our systems and possibly inject some sort of malware it is perfectly within our right to take a closer look and see whether that code poses a threat, just as you would ask a few questions from a stranger who would want to enter your house."

DoD: The U.S. does not seek a new Cold War

Russia's actions "will not be tolerated," testified Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Eric Edelman during a hearing about the current military conflict in Georgia before Senate Armed Services Committee. "The United States does not seek a new Cold War," he said, challenging Russia to "define its relationship with the international community."

Defending the U.S. rush to side with Georgia, Edelman pointed out that "20 percent of [Georgia's] active duty forces were in Iraq" at the time their country was infiltrated. These troops were flown back to their base outside of Tblisi by the United States, shortly after the crisis broke out. Edelman called Georgia a partner in the war on terror. Edelman announced that the NATO alliance has decided to further the discussion of Georgia's membership by forming a commission to bring Georgia closer to membership.

Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried claimed The United States was taking steps to back already by working with NATO to establish Georgia's "military needs."

Bullet Updates on Russia and Georgia

Recent Developments in the Russia-Georgia Conflict

By Amanda Grinstead, TRNS intern


Tuesday August 12th

* A Dutch cameraman, Stan Storimans of RTL TV, was killed in Gori, and the correspondent accompanying him was wounded.


* the UK-based oil company BP shut down 3 of its pipelines as a "precautionary measure" in response to fighting in the region.


* Russian officials claimed that their actions were aimed at stopping Georgia's military attacks on Russian peacekeeping forces and civilians, with one diplomat stating that as many as 2,000 people had perished after Georgia entered South Ossetia.


* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia had had no option but to use military force against Georgia: "If Russia had a different option of reacting to Georgia's aggression against South Ossetia, we would have used it," he said. "But we didn't have this option. When several thousand civilians are killed, the state must act accordingly."


* Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggested that Mikheil Saakashvili, President of Georgia, step down, although he said Russia was not demanding this.




Wednesday August 13th


* The French Presient Sarkozy, is to broker a 6-point ceasefire agreement between Russia and Georgia, to be submitted to the EU and then the UN Security Council. Sarkozy said that they are aiming to make the agreement "long-term".


* The terms included immediate ceasefire and allowing humanitarian aid access to the conflict regions.


* This was announced only hours after Russia withdrew its military incursion into Georgia.


* Reports claimed that there are 15,000 Russian troops present in Georgia.


* George Bush said that Russia's behaviour had seriously called into question its suitability as an ally of the US, and also that the G8 was considering expelling Russia as punishment for its aggression.


* Russia and Georgia both accused each other of breaking initial ceasefire.


* Lavrov claimed that Russian troops remain in Georgia to neutralise abandoned weapons arsenals and to enforce the peace that Georgia was ignoring.


* Saakashvili stated: "Russian tanks continue to ravage Georgia town and villages, killing people, destroying buildings, looting. ... They've been doing worse things to what I've heard in the past and I could never imagine happening in my country." He went on to blame the West, in part, for failing to respond to Russia adequately, and for failing to correctly read Russia's intentions in Georgia.


* Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed that Georgian government officials had fled Gori, and that Russian soldiers were providing food and water to residents, although there were other reports of looting.




Thursday August 14th


* US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was to take a ceasefire document to Tbilisi, Georgia's capital, which offers a slight concession to Russia and closes the loophole left by Sarkozy's agreement: the French-brokered agreement allows for Russia to take "additional security measures" until an international agreement is reached- this was seen as permitting Russia to remain in Georgia outside the main zone of conflict. Under this ceasefire agreement 1,500 Russian peacekeeping troops are permitted to remain, and patrol up to 6 kilometers outside Abkhazia and South Ossetia. They may not patrol in Gori or any other cities, and may not hinder aid or control ports, highways or railways.




Friday August 15th


* Human Rights Watch said that there is evidence that Russia had been dropping cluster bombs on Georgian civilians, including over Gori, killing 11, and had also seen evidence that houses are being set on fire.


* Saakashvili signed the ceasefire agreement, brought by Rice to Tbilisi. It includes a provision for independent monitors and an eventual reconstruction plan for Georgia's economy.


* Rice and Saakashvili met for almost 5 hours to discuss the agreement. Rice said that the priority was now for Russia to withdraw.


* Later on Friday, Sarkozy says Medvedev confirmed Russia's cooperation.




Saturday August 16th


* Georgia accused Russian troops of mining and exploding a key railway bridge and starting huge fires in the Borjomi Gorge, in spite of the new ceasefire agreement.


* The bridge connects East and West Georgia and has been a main route for refugees fleeing the fighting- the Georgian Ministry for Foreign Affairs claimed that Russia was deliberately trying to bring about "humanitarian catastrophe".


* Georgia's Interior Ministry also said that Russian-backed militias members have seized control of 13 Georgian villages and a power plant in the region.


* Russian troops remained within 25 miles (40 kilometers) of Tbilisi and were on the western front of Abkhazia.




Sunday August 17th


* Russia stated that it would begin withdrawing its forces into a buffer zone and South Ossetia on Monday 18th.


* However, Konstantin Kosachev, head of the Russian parliament's foreign affairs committee, said Moscow will withdraw only when it is "assured that Georgians will not continue to use military force" in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.




Monday August 18th


* Medvedev spoke, threatening punishment for the Georgians whom he claimed were responsible for ethnic cleansing in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Georgia has made similar accusations of genocide.


* Georgia's ambassador to the United States, Vasil Sikharulidze, said the Russian push into Georgia had been long planned:
"You just don't move more than 1,200 tanks and 15,000 soldiers into a country within 12 hours without previous planning."


* The Georgian Foreign Ministry said that a Russian armoured column had been sighted moving deeper into Georgian territory, travelling south of Kashuri, which is roughly 10 miles south of South Ossetia.




Tuesday August 19th


* Hopes of peace were bolstered when Russia and Georgia exchanged captured soldiers, though later at the port of Poti Russia took 21 Georgian military police officers hostage, and reportedly seized 4 American military vehicles.


* In Brussels, at an emergency meeting of the foreign ministers of NATO's members, NATO's Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer accused Russia of ignoring the terms of the ceasefire agreed last week by not withdrawing its troops to their positions before August 6th.


* Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov claimed that NATO is "biased" to Georgia's side, while Russian General Anatoly Nogovitsyn said that troops remained in order to protect the South Ossetia border.


* Ministers at the NATO meeting said that they were "seriously" considering the implications of Russia's actions on the NATO-Russia relationship. Scheffer said: "As long as Russian forces are basically occupying a large part of Georgia, I cannot see a NATO-Russia Council convene at whatever level."


* Scheffer stated that a NATO-Georgia Commission is to be set up to assess Georgia's relationship with NATO, supervise its bid for membership, and provide assistance in Tbilisi, the capital. 50 NATO staff are to be sent to Georgia to assist with air traffic control and assess the needs of Georgia's military.


* US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that Russia was isolating itself by "invading smaller neighbours, bombing civilian infrastructure, going into villages and wreaking havoc and (carrying out) the wanton destruction of (Georgia's) infrastructure.


* The Bush administration claimed that Russia was trying to undermine Georgia because of the pro-West stance of its President, Saakashvili. Bush wants the suspension of all Russia-NATO cooperation for the moment, and also for Europe to lessen its dependence on Russia for energy supplies.


* Medvedev issued fresh commitment to withdraw, but at the same time pulled the Russian navy out of NATO exercises- relations between Russia and NATO are at an all-time low.


* The French presidency stated that: "President Medvedev announced to Sarkozy that the withdrawal of Russian troops will be concluded August 21-22, with the exception of a team of 500 personnel charged with implementing additional security measures under article five of the August 12 agreement."