RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – August 10, 2009
TODAY: Medvedev firm on realignment of Caucasus; pledges support for the breakaway territories; details of Cyxymu hacking case emerge. Justice for Politkovskaya meets obstacles; Kadyrov shows little love for Estemirova; Putin celebrates ten years in power. Helicopters, cars and cops.
‘Last year’s events have finally redrawn the political map of the Caucasus‘ said President Medvedev, awarding medals at a war in Georgia commemoration service. Medvedev has promised to develop ‘full-fledged relations with South Ossetia and Abkhazia, regardless of whether somebody likes it or not’. According to the President, Georgia has not stopped threatening to regain its ‘territorial integrity‘ by force. He has pledged to continue to provide South Ossetia with social, economic and military assistance and thanked President Sarkozy for his participation in the cease-fire. The heads of Russian political parties have asserted that a Trans-Caucasian conflict was averted by the action against Georgia last summer. Vladimir Putin has claimed that Russia’s recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia helped establish stability in the region. The New York Times looks at Russia’s rhetorical knee-jerk reacting in using the word ‘genocide’ to describe Georgia’s operating in the breakaway territories. An article in the Moscow Times argues that the conflict damaged Russia’s ties with neighboring states.
‘Last year’s events have finally redrawn the political map of the Caucasus‘ said President Medvedev, awarding medals at a war in Georgia commemoration service. Medvedev has promised to develop ‘full-fledged relations with South Ossetia and Abkhazia, regardless of whether somebody likes it or not’. According to the President, Georgia has not stopped threatening to regain its ‘territorial integrity‘ by force. He has pledged to continue to provide South Ossetia with social, economic and military assistance and thanked President Sarkozy for his participation in the cease-fire. The heads of Russian political parties have asserted that a Trans-Caucasian conflict was averted by the action against Georgia last summer. Vladimir Putin has claimed that Russia’s recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia helped establish stability in the region. The New York Times looks at Russia’s rhetorical knee-jerk reacting in using the word ‘genocide’ to describe Georgia’s operating in the breakaway territories. An article in the Moscow Times argues that the conflict damaged Russia’s ties with neighboring states.