August 13, 2008 By Citizen M

RA’s Daily Russia News Blast – Aug 13, 2008

130808.jpgTODAY: Six-step peace process agreed on; Medvedev calls day of mourning; Russian tanks fill Gori; the PR war continues; Moscow’s Zimbabwe stance “hypocrisy”; British Foreign Secretary weighs in; Russia claims South Ossetia war crimes, Georgia files lawsuit for ethnic cleansing; Georgia beats Russia in Olympic volleyball. President Dmitry Medvedev and President Mikheil Saakashvili have agreed on a framework to end the war of the last five days. The peace plan, brokered by French President Nicholas Sarkozy in his role as current EU President, “may make it easier for the EU to set aside deep differences over who to blame for the war in the breakaway Georgian region.” Medvedev, who apparently ordered troops to stop military operations in Georgia before meeting with Sarkozy for peace talks, has declared today a national day of mourning. Referring to Saakashvili as a “lunatic”, he also demanded that the breakaway regions be allowed to vote on whether or not they want to join Russia. At a reading of the peace plan yesterday, Medvedev said that troops from both sides “would be withdrawn to their positions prior to the start of hostilities”. Reports suggest that, despite an agreed ceasefire, Russian tanks have entered the already devastated town of Gori.