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Europarliament Condemns Russia
The European Parliament has condemned Russia’s actions in the Caucasus. While acknowledging that Georgia began the military activities in South Ossetia, it criticized Russia’s “disproportionate” response. Discussion of the resolution, on September 1, the first day of work after the summer vacation, was heated. A three-hour EU summit also in Brussels voted on the same day to freeze negotiations with Russia on a new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement until there is a complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgia.
The vote in the European Parliament was 549 in favor of the resolution condemning Russia, 68 opposed and 61 abstentions. The resolution acknowledges that Georgia began military actions first but did not pass judgment on those actions. Socialist Martin Schultz wanted the resolution to mention “inadequate and impermissible behavior” by Saakashvili, but that wording was rejected by the majority of parliamentarians.
The resolution condemns Russia’s recognition of South Ossetian and Abkhazian and demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgia, especially the port of Poti. Andrey Nesterenko, official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, stated in Moscow yesterday that Russian forces are no longer present in Poti. He noted that there were Russian subdivisions carrying out special operations in the area, however.
The resolution also urged European leaders to reduce dependence on Russian energy sources and to increase financing for the Nabucco natural gas pipeline project, which would bypass Russia. Nonetheless, Eastern European parliamentarians demanded a number of punitive measures against Russia that were not adopted.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Sep. 04, 2008
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