Russia-Georgia Conflict: Cease Fire Agreement Reached (Update: and Key Bridge is Blown up)

by Deb Cupples |   Russia and Georgia signed a cease-fire agreement yesterday; though, Russia intends to keep troops in the area for an as-yet-undetermined time period.  The New York Times reports:

"The Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, told reporters that Russian forces would stay in Georgia as long as they were needed. He said their withdrawal would depend on the introduction of what he called additional security measures. He did not explain what those were."

“The basic agreements do not determine the ceiling for the peacekeeping contingents,” Mr. Lavrov said. “How long it will take, I have already emphasized that it depends not only on us. We are constantly facing problems created by the Georgian side.”

"Speaking at his ranch in Texas, President Bush described the Russian endorsement of the cease-fire as a 'hopeful step....'

"The Russian announcements came a day after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice went to Georgia to demand a Russian pullout and win the Georgian president’s support for the revised cease-fire agreement." (NY Times)

My co-blogger Damozel has done numerous link-filled posts about the Russia-Georgia conflict, and some of them (along with one of mine) are linked below.

Update: Today's Los Angeles Times reports:

"Even as Russia signed a cease-fire agreement with Georgia on Saturday, its troops destroyed a key railroad bridge that links the Caucasus region to the Black Sea coast, cutting off east-west transportation routes through the country, the Georgian Foreign Ministry announced.

"Russia denied blowing up the bridge, calling the charge "another unverified allegation" in the wake of large-scale fighting over a pro-Moscow separatist republic."

Memeorandum has commentary.

* Georgian Conflict: Leaders Angry, Russia Digs in, Civilians Suffer (News Round-Up)

* Do our Media Understand the Russia-Georgia Conflict?

* Conflict Continues Amid Claims of Atrocities Against Ethnic Georgians

* A "Turning Point" in the Georgian Conflict?

* Russians Continuing to Push Into Georgia?

* Irony Alert:  Bush Lecturing Putin

*Georgia's Ethnic Cleansing Lawsuit Against Russia & Questions About Georgia's Attack on South Ossetia

 

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