Sarkozy's Georgia peace plan agreed in principle

The International Herald Tribune ^ | Wednesday, August 13, 2008 | Chris Baldwin

[Cincinna]

MOSCOW: Georgia and Russia agreed in principle to an EU-brokered peace plan over South Ossetia on Wednesday as the U.S. showed disapproval of Moscow's attacks on its neighbour by cancelling a joint naval exercise.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his Georgian counterpart Mikheil Saakashvili agreed late on Tuesday to a modified version of a six-point peace plan endorsed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

"It is a political document. It 'is an agreement of principles...and I think we have full coincidence of principles," Saakashvili told a joint news conference with Sarkozy.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Moscow's military operations in Georgia had jeopardised Russia's integration into international institutions.

[Cincinna]

Sarkozy and France hold the current Presidency of the European Union. Pressure needs to be put on the Europeans to back this plan, and to back the Georgian people.

Wouldn’t this be the idea time for Sarko to bring France back into NATO as a full member?

[Lib-Lickers 2]

shouldn’t we all wait for the Messiah to present his perfect plan before we all get excited?

[Cincinna]

The “One” has already issued his response.

In his inexperience and naivete, he counseled both sides to “exercise restraint.” Obama’s moral relativity is terrifying.

[Freelance Warrior]

• No more use of force
• Stop all military actions for good
• Free access to humanitarian aid
• Georgian troops return to their places of permanent deployment
• Russian troops return to pre-conflict positions

BBC

[SunkenCiv]

That’s one thing the Russian move in Georgia could accomplish. This is going to turn into a disaster for Putin and his neosoviet regime.

[Cincinna]

There has also been talk about rushing to push The Ukraine’s membership in the EU to mount a show of strength against Putin.

[RetiredArmy]

The damned Soviets don't care if we disagree or not. They want their empire back, and will take it piece by piece over the next several years. With a Marxist Dimocrat in the House in the D.C. Hood, they will not be challenged. They will be supported.

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

Why would NATO want France back? What was it that George Patton once famously said, that he’d rather have a full division of Germans in front of him rather than a division of French...?

[Ulysse]

SARKOZY’s “peace plan” is a kind of show to hide european incompetence and dependence to RUSSIA where Moscow/PUTIN(who still rules RUSSIA) imposed its diktat...

Now just watch what’s going on on the ground!

BTW EU is deeply divided and PUTIN knows it (Old EU is also divided with USA...)

[AndyJackson]

I hate to dash some realpolitik onto the party here, but there are a couple of notions that just won't work. First is the notion that a long narrow corridor providing enormous energy resources to the West and that skirts the borders of Russia, bypassing all Russian strategic interests is strategically defensible. The finest of the US military got its collective butt kicked for about 4 years in Iraq, which we can get to easily enough by ship. We are talking about opposing one of the world's major powers, in a place next to their border, well connected by internal Russian infrastructure, a place we cannot reach at all.

Sure we can make the Russians pay a diplomatic price, including the threat of and the reality of a reinvigorated NATO with Eastern Europe plus other border states as members.

But if Russsia WANTS Georgia, sadly, they can have it. Of course the other tragedy in life is getting what you want.

I think that the real point here is that a lot of irresponsible people have been tweaking the tiger's tail for many years. We have made quite a drunken party of it. The tiger is not dead, and it turns out the tiger has sharp teeth, tenacious claws and a taste for the jugular.

Putin has accomplished his mission. Maybe some folks will be a little bit less cavalier in the future. It will be healthy for all.

[omega4179]

Maybe you didn’t notice Frances swing to the right w/ sarko

[Southack]

Sarkozy already put France back into full NATO membership.

[Antoninus]

The finest of the US military got its collective butt kicked for about 4 years in Iraq...Putin has accomplished his mission. Maybe some folks will be a little bit less cavalier in the future. It will be healthy for all.

The amount of pro-Russian propaganda on FR is simply staggering.

[AndyJackson]

Pointing out realities of our strategic position is not being "pro Russian." Stating that Russia is an advanced country with an incredibly well educated scientific and technical elite, enormous natural resources and growing wealth because of its oil resources is not "pro-Russian" or anti-US. It is simply to acknowledge that strategic planning has to start from the world as it is, not as you wish it were.

Besides which, I am not sure American gluttony is a force for good set loose upon the world, and I think it is debatable whether American gluttony is a conservative value.

[Antoninus]

Besides which, I am not sure American gluttony is a force for good set loose upon the world, and I think it is debatable whether American gluttony is a conservative value.

Keep talking, loser.

The Russians are the moral equivalent of Attila the Hun. The "blame America first" mentality has nothing to do with this invasion, but is happily used by anti-American, pro-Russian shills.

[AndyJackson]

you are the kind of clueless idiot that would cause a nuclear war where we ever to sink so low as to allow you to have anything to say about military or foreign policy matters.

[Antoninus]

you are the kind of clueless idiot that would cause a nuclear war where we ever to sink so low as to allow you to have anything to say about military or foreign policy matters.

Russian shills are easily spotted thanks to their generally wretched command of the English language.

[dr_who]

The only way this could turn into a disaster for Putin is if Georgia was able to permanently blunt Russia’s attack on Georgia or the rest of the world united and drove Russia back into Russia. That hasn’t happened. The latter didn’t even happen to Hussein during the first gulf war.