歸為亞洲似乎也沒什麼
Russia Set To Leave A Battered Georgia
Russia, under intense diplomatic pressure, announced it will begin pulling troops out of neighboring Georgia -- but it leaves behind a battered Western ally.
Since a separatist dispute flared into open war Aug. 8, Moscow has occupied chunks of Georgia's territory, strangled its economy, cut transport links and damaged key investment projects.
For many former Soviet states ringing Russia, the show of force was a clear warning. 'They want to show nothing is safe here if it isn't under their control,' said Georgian Economy Minister Yekaterina Sharashidze, of the Russian government. 'The goal is to create an economic and humanitarian disaster that will rebound on the government' and topple it.
There's also widespread skepticism in Georgia that Moscow will stick to its commitment to withdraw. Previous pledges to pull back its troops from Georgian territory haven't been honored. In making an announcement Sunday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev gave no timetable for the completion of the pullout.
On Tuesday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will attend an emergency session of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Brussels to fashion a more detailed response to Russia's actions.
A White House spokesman, Gordon Johndroe, said NATO countries are likely to put Georgia and Ukraine on the track to becoming members of the Western military alliance at a meeting of foreign ministers in December. The U.S. failed to persuade other NATO members to do that at a summit earlier this year, in part because of Russian pressure. (Please see related article.)
In a speech in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi Sunday, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel said NATO could help with reconstruction and rebuilding Georgia's military once Russia withdraws.
A full reconstruction program will likely require significant external aid. Georgian officials have only just started drawing up estimates for the cost of repairing damage inflicted by the Russian military. The final figure will be 'billions' of dollars, said First Deputy Minister of Economic Development Vakhtang Lejava.
Russian officials deny targeting civilian infrastructure, saying their forces are working to secure weapons caches abandoned by retreating Georgian forces. But events on the ground cast doubt on that.
Events in Poti, a Georgian town on the Black Sea coast, also suggest Russia has used the conflict to draw a noose around Georgia's economy. Though hundreds of miles from the fighting in Georgia's separatist province of South Ossetia and clearly not a military asset, Poti's huge commercial port was targeted 10 days ago in a Russian bombing raid that killed 10 people and wounded 40. The town itself has seen daily incursions by Russian troops who have looted stores, trashed offices and systematically destroyed military infrastructure, according to Georgian officials. Some looting has been captured on local television.
Meanwhile, about eight Russian ships of the Black Sea fleet, including a cruiser, also sailed down the coast and took up position just off Poti harbor, according to city officials. 'They effectively blocked the port,' said Merab Kabunia, head of the border-police unit of the Georgian coast guard. 'It amounted to an economic blockade.' The ships stayed for eight days, he said, obstructing tankers trying to reach the harbor. Russian officials said the ships were there to support the ground forces and ensure transit of humanitarian cargoes.
Poti is a key gateway for goods destined for Azerbaijan and Armenia as well as the landlocked nations of Central Asia. Tajikistan imports alumina powder through Poti and exports finished aluminum. Azerbaijan ships in cars and clinker for cement and exports scrap metal to Turkey, while Kazakhstan exports grain through the port. Armenia, unable for political reasons to trade through either Turkey or Azerbaijan, relies almost entirely on Georgia's railway system, which has a terminus in Poti.
Poti's port isn't the only Georgian economic asset that has come under threat. Russian-backed rebels in the country's second breakaway region, Abkhazia, have moved south to grab a big hydroelectric power station near the Inguri River. Russian planes have also dropped bombs on the Heidelberg cement factory near Gori, and near the BP PLC-run Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which carries 850,000 barrels of oil a day to the Mediterranean, according to Georgia's government. Russia denies targeting them.
Witnesses say Russian troops also assaulted a small military base on the outskirts of Poti, where helicopters landed and blew up a radar installation. Soldiers ransacked the base's warehouse. Their choice of booty surprised the Georgians. 'They cleaned out a store we used for old clothes -- used underwear, old socks,' said a Georgian soldier at the base, who declined to give his name. 'They also took a black-and-white TV set and some tins of motor oil.'
Russian officials denied reports of looting, saying Russian forces were securing weapons and equipment abandoned by retreating Georgian troops. 'The weapons and ordnance are registered, counted and sorted,' said Anatoly Nogovitsyn, a spokesman for the Russian General Staff. 'A decision on their future use will be taken later. Our task is to prevent these arms from spreading out of control across the Caucasus.'
Since a separatist dispute flared into open war Aug. 8, Moscow has occupied chunks of Georgia's territory, strangled its economy, cut transport links and damaged key investment projects.
For many former Soviet states ringing Russia, the show of force was a clear warning. 'They want to show nothing is safe here if it isn't under their control,' said Georgian Economy Minister Yekaterina Sharashidze, of the Russian government. 'The goal is to create an economic and humanitarian disaster that will rebound on the government' and topple it.
There's also widespread skepticism in Georgia that Moscow will stick to its commitment to withdraw. Previous pledges to pull back its troops from Georgian territory haven't been honored. In making an announcement Sunday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev gave no timetable for the completion of the pullout.
On Tuesday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will attend an emergency session of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Brussels to fashion a more detailed response to Russia's actions.
A White House spokesman, Gordon Johndroe, said NATO countries are likely to put Georgia and Ukraine on the track to becoming members of the Western military alliance at a meeting of foreign ministers in December. The U.S. failed to persuade other NATO members to do that at a summit earlier this year, in part because of Russian pressure. (Please see related article.)
In a speech in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi Sunday, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel said NATO could help with reconstruction and rebuilding Georgia's military once Russia withdraws.
A full reconstruction program will likely require significant external aid. Georgian officials have only just started drawing up estimates for the cost of repairing damage inflicted by the Russian military. The final figure will be 'billions' of dollars, said First Deputy Minister of Economic Development Vakhtang Lejava.
Russian officials deny targeting civilian infrastructure, saying their forces are working to secure weapons caches abandoned by retreating Georgian forces. But events on the ground cast doubt on that.
Events in Poti, a Georgian town on the Black Sea coast, also suggest Russia has used the conflict to draw a noose around Georgia's economy. Though hundreds of miles from the fighting in Georgia's separatist province of South Ossetia and clearly not a military asset, Poti's huge commercial port was targeted 10 days ago in a Russian bombing raid that killed 10 people and wounded 40. The town itself has seen daily incursions by Russian troops who have looted stores, trashed offices and systematically destroyed military infrastructure, according to Georgian officials. Some looting has been captured on local television.
Meanwhile, about eight Russian ships of the Black Sea fleet, including a cruiser, also sailed down the coast and took up position just off Poti harbor, according to city officials. 'They effectively blocked the port,' said Merab Kabunia, head of the border-police unit of the Georgian coast guard. 'It amounted to an economic blockade.' The ships stayed for eight days, he said, obstructing tankers trying to reach the harbor. Russian officials said the ships were there to support the ground forces and ensure transit of humanitarian cargoes.
Poti is a key gateway for goods destined for Azerbaijan and Armenia as well as the landlocked nations of Central Asia. Tajikistan imports alumina powder through Poti and exports finished aluminum. Azerbaijan ships in cars and clinker for cement and exports scrap metal to Turkey, while Kazakhstan exports grain through the port. Armenia, unable for political reasons to trade through either Turkey or Azerbaijan, relies almost entirely on Georgia's railway system, which has a terminus in Poti.
Poti's port isn't the only Georgian economic asset that has come under threat. Russian-backed rebels in the country's second breakaway region, Abkhazia, have moved south to grab a big hydroelectric power station near the Inguri River. Russian planes have also dropped bombs on the Heidelberg cement factory near Gori, and near the BP PLC-run Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which carries 850,000 barrels of oil a day to the Mediterranean, according to Georgia's government. Russia denies targeting them.
Witnesses say Russian troops also assaulted a small military base on the outskirts of Poti, where helicopters landed and blew up a radar installation. Soldiers ransacked the base's warehouse. Their choice of booty surprised the Georgians. 'They cleaned out a store we used for old clothes -- used underwear, old socks,' said a Georgian soldier at the base, who declined to give his name. 'They also took a black-and-white TV set and some tins of motor oil.'
Russian officials denied reports of looting, saying Russian forces were securing weapons and equipment abandoned by retreating Georgian troops. 'The weapons and ordnance are registered, counted and sorted,' said Anatoly Nogovitsyn, a spokesman for the Russian General Staff. 'A decision on their future use will be taken later. Our task is to prevent these arms from spreading out of control across the Caucasus.'
俄羅斯宣佈將撤離格魯吉亞
在
強烈的外交壓力下﹐俄羅斯宣佈將開始從鄰國格魯吉亞撤軍──但這個西方盟國已遭受重創。8月8日﹐格魯吉亞政府與分離主義者的爭端激化為公開的戰爭﹐自那以後﹐莫斯科已經佔領了大片格魯吉亞領土﹐掐斷了該國的經濟命脈﹐切斷了其交通要道﹐並使該國一些重大投資項目遭受沉重打擊。
對 於俄羅斯週邊的許多前蘇聯成員國而言﹐這番武力展示是明顯的警告。格經濟部長沙拉希澤(Yekaterina Sharashidze)說﹐俄羅斯政府想讓人們知道﹐不受他們控制就沒有安全可言﹐他們的目標是製造經濟和人道主義災難﹐讓不聽話的國家自食其果並推翻 其政府。
格魯吉亞國內普遍懷疑莫斯科是否會遵守撤軍承諾。俄並未遵守此前表示的從格境內撤軍的承諾。俄羅斯總統梅德韋傑夫週日發表聲明時沒有說明完成撤軍的時間表。
週二﹐美國國務卿賴斯(Condoleezza Rice)將參加北大西洋公約組織(North Atlantic Treaty Organization﹐簡稱﹕北約)在布魯塞爾舉行的緊急會議﹐此次會議旨在針對俄羅斯的行動制定出更詳細的應對措施。
白宮發言人戈登•約翰德羅(Gordon Johndroe)表示﹐北約成員國可能會在12月份的外交部長會議上啟動讓格魯吉亞和烏克蘭加入北約的進程。在今年早些時候的北約峰會上﹐部分由於俄羅斯施加的壓力﹐美國沒能說服其他北約成員國啟動這一進程。
週日﹐德國總理安格拉•默克爾(Angela Merkel)在格魯吉亞首都第比利斯發表講話時表示﹐俄羅斯撤軍後﹐北約會幫助格魯吉亞重建軍事力量。
全面重建可能需要大量外部援助。格官員剛剛開始估算修復被俄軍破壞的設施所需要的費用。格經濟發展部第一副部長Vakhtang Lejava說﹐最終的數字可能達到數十億美元。
俄羅斯官員否認有針對民用設施的破壞行動﹐稱俄軍隊只是在保護格軍撤退後留下的武器庫。但實際發生的事情讓人對此產生了懷疑。
格 魯吉亞黑海沿岸城鎮Poti發生的事件也表明﹐俄羅斯正利用此次沖突扼殺格魯吉亞經濟。Poti巨大的民用碼頭離南奧塞梯的交戰地點數百英里之遙﹐顯然並 非軍事項目﹐但在10天前的俄羅斯炸彈襲擊中卻被列為了轟炸目標﹐轟炸造成10人死亡﹐40人受傷。格官員稱﹐Poti城本身也每天遭到俄羅斯軍隊的襲扰 ﹐後者劫掠商店、搗毀辦公室﹐並有組織地摧毀了軍事設施。當地電視台拍到了一些劫掠場面。
據Poti市政府官員稱﹐與此同時﹐俄羅斯黑海 艦隊的大約8艘艦船也沿海岸線而下﹐在Poti港口外駐扎。格魯吉亞海岸警衛隊邊境警察局局長Merab Kabunia說﹐他們等於是封鎖了港口﹐這相當於經濟封鎖。他說﹐俄艦隊停留了8天﹐阻止油輪靠港。俄羅斯官員稱﹐這些艦船是為了支持地面部隊﹐並確保 人道主義救援貨物的通行。
Poti是貨物運往阿塞拜疆和亞美尼亞以及中亞內陸國家的重要門戶。塔吉克斯坦通過Poti進口氧化鋁粉並出口 成品鋁。阿塞拜疆進口汽車和水泥渣磚﹐並向土耳其出口金屬廢料﹐而哈薩克斯坦則通過該港口出口糧食。因政治原因而無法通過土耳其或阿塞拜疆進行貿易的亞美 尼亞幾乎完全依靠格魯吉亞的鐵路系統﹐而Poti則是鐵路出海口。
Poti的港口並非格魯吉亞唯一受到威脅的經濟資產。在格魯吉亞第二個 試圖分離出去的地區阿布哈茲﹐俄羅斯支持的叛亂分子已向南方挺進﹐奪取了Inguri河附近的一座大型水電站。格政府稱﹐俄軍飛機還轟炸了格里附近的 Heidelberg水泥廠﹐還有BP-PLC經營的巴庫─第比利斯─Ceyhan輸油管線﹐後者每天向地中海輸送85萬桶石油。俄羅斯否認將這些地方列 為攻擊目標。
目擊者稱﹐俄羅斯軍隊還襲擊了Poti郊區的一個小型軍事基地﹐以直升機著陸並炸毀了一個雷達裝置。士兵們洗劫了該基地的倉 庫。他們選擇的戰利品令格魯吉亞人驚訝不已。基地中一位不願意透露姓名的格魯吉亞士兵說﹐他們掃蕩了一個儲存舊衣服的倉庫──裡面是穿過的內衣和舊襪子什 么的﹐還拿走了一台黑白電視機和幾罐發動機潤滑油。
俄羅斯官員否認了有關搶劫的報道﹐稱俄軍只是在保護撤走的格軍留下的武器和設備。俄羅斯總參謀部發言人諾戈維岑(Anatoly Nogovitsyn)說﹐武器和軍火都作了登記、清點和分類﹐稍後將決定它們將來的用途﹔我們的任務是防止這些武器流落到高加索地區。
Guy Chazan / Marc Champion
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