lennart
08-07-04, 19:14
Conflict looms in South Ossetia
(...)
"Tbilisi is ignoring the fact that a sharpening of the crisis puts the people of South Ossetia, most of whom are Russian citizens, under a serious security threat," a Foreign Ministry statement said.
On Tuesday, Georgian troops intercepted a Russian convoy near Kurta. Two Russian lorries which were carrying military equipment were impounded.
Eight of the 10 vehicles were released. The two that were loaded with weapons - including more than 100 missiles - were sent to Tbilisi.
Moscow says it wants to help broker a peaceful solution, but many people in Georgia suspect the Russians of siding with the separatists, correspondents say.
South Ossetia broke away from Georgia in the 1990s, after a war that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union.
It claimed independence from Georgia and wants to join North Ossetia, which is ethnically similar and part of Russia.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3877351.stm
(...)
"Tbilisi is ignoring the fact that a sharpening of the crisis puts the people of South Ossetia, most of whom are Russian citizens, under a serious security threat," a Foreign Ministry statement said.
On Tuesday, Georgian troops intercepted a Russian convoy near Kurta. Two Russian lorries which were carrying military equipment were impounded.
Eight of the 10 vehicles were released. The two that were loaded with weapons - including more than 100 missiles - were sent to Tbilisi.
Moscow says it wants to help broker a peaceful solution, but many people in Georgia suspect the Russians of siding with the separatists, correspondents say.
South Ossetia broke away from Georgia in the 1990s, after a war that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union.
It claimed independence from Georgia and wants to join North Ossetia, which is ethnically similar and part of Russia.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3877351.stm