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Putin accuses U.S. of orchestrating Georgian war
 Russian PM Vladimir Putin has accused the U.S. of orchestrating the conflict in Georgia. |
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has accused the United States of orchestrating the conflict in Georgia to benefit one of its presidential election candidates.
In an exclusive interview with CNN’s Matthew Chance in the Black Sea city of Sochi Thursday, Putin said the U.S. had encouraged Georgia to attack the autonomous region of South Ossetia.
Putin told CNN it was done to benefit a presidential candidate — Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama are competing to succeed George W. Bush.
Putin said Russia had no choice but to invade Georgia after some of its peacekeepers in South Ossetia were killed. He told Chance it was to avert a human calamity.
The former Russian president, still considered the most powerful man in the country, said he was disappointed the U.S. had not done more to stop Georgia’s attack.
He also announced economic measures which he said were unrelated to the fighting with Georgia. Nineteen U.S. poultry meat companies would be banned from exporting their products to Russia because they had failed health and safety tests, and 29 other companies had been warned to improve their standards or face the same ban, Putin said.
His comments come as tensions between the West and Russia reach fresh highs.
Russia is trying to counterbalance mounting pressure from the West over its military action in Georgia and its recognition of the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Its hopes of winning international support for its actions in Georgia were dashed Thursday, when China and other Asian nations expressed concern about mounting tensions in the region.
The joint declaration from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, or SCO, which includes China, Russia, Tajikistan, Kyrgystan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan, said the countries hoped any further conflict could be resolved peacefully through dialogue.
“The presidents reaffirmed their commitment to the principles of respect for historic and cultural traditions of every country and efforts aimed at preserving the unity of a state and its territorial integrity,” the declaration said, The Associated Press reported.
“Placing the emphasis exclusively on the use of force has no prospects and hinders a comprehensive settlement of local conflicts,” AP reported the group as saying.
Russia had appealed to the SCO alliance to support its actions in Georgia.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sought their support at a summit Thursday in the Central Asian nation of Tajikistan.
Medvedev told the group support for Russia would serve as a “serious signal for those who are trying to justify the aggression.”
On Wednesday a U.S. ship carrying aid docked in Georgia, while Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Miliband traveled to the Ukraine, which is worried about Russia’s intentions in the region, to offer the UK’s support.
Miliband equated Moscow’s offensive in Georgia with the Soviet tanks that invaded Czechoslovakia to crush the Prague Spring democratic reforms in 1968, and demanded Russia “change course,” AP reported.
“The sight of Russian tanks in a neighboring country on the 40th anniversary of the crushing of the Prague Spring has shown that the temptations of power politics remain,” Miliband said.
Russia, however, has continued to defend its recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Russian military entered Georgia proper from the provinces in early August after Georgian troops attacked separatists in South Ossetia. Russia called it an extension of their peacekeeping duties. The West and Georgia called it an invasion.
Medvedev said recognizing South Ossetia and Abkhazia “was not a step taken lightly, or without full consideration of the consequences.” Subscribe=>
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