Georgia peace mission
A Russian soldier, who looks about 14, shoulders not his rifle but a road sign and puts it back in place by the checkpoint, where a comrade carrying a sub-machine gun waves cars and the occasional horse and cart past.
The red-white-blue of the Russian flag still flutters over this encampment and two tanks still point their guns at the roadside. But the Russians are packing their bags, even though they won the war. It was a small conflict, but Europe's first war of the 21st Century has already had global repercussions. Metal barriers are being packed into lorries, floodlights are coming down. Tanks will soon be on the move.
This checkpoint is the last one along the road into South Ossetia. In August there was one every 50 yards or so. The Russians have until Friday to meet the terms of the ceasefire negotiated by French President Nicholas Sarkozy on behalf of the European Union and withdraw troops back to their original positions before the war began. 
The EU is pretty pleased with itself that it has stepped in to stop a fight on its doorstep, and happy that it has been able to swiftly deploy around 200 monitors to check that the Russians are keeping their word.
There's little doubt in my mind that so far the EU countries have been able to stick together and make their case. When it was clear the Russians weren't meeting the terms of the ceasefire Sarkozy, armed with a threat to call off talks on a new trade deal with Russia, flew to Moscow and got them to accept the monitors and the deadline. Others have been pleased to see the EU extend its foreign policy in this way. The United States and Nato were seen as parties to the dispute, so they could hardly have acted as honest brokers.
The Russians can block and influence missions by the United Nations and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). So it was perhaps natural that the EU should be the West's instrument of choice. There is no doubt for this sometimes ponderous organisation that the monitoring mission has been organised at the double. But should the EU be pleased with itself? Many think Sarkozy's peace deal is deeply flawed and the monitors powerless. 
I catch up with some of the British monitors in their white four-wheel drive. They've borrowed them from the OSCE: their own vehicles are still at customs. The monitors are half-civilian, half-police, and strictly unarmed. Most of them have a military background, but it is quite clear their job is to watch and report back, not to enforce the peace deal. If the Russians fail to meet the terms of the agreement that will be up to their political masters, the EU's 27 foreign ministers, to make that declaration and decide what to do.
The British monitors and their Swedish companions in the vehicle behind are going to have a tricky task. Everybody knows that the Russians, having recognised the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, are not going to leave what they regard as new countries. The EU foreign ministers may choose to decry this, or they may fudge the issue, but at least everyone knows what the reality is.
But the case of Akhalgori is much more difficult. This area, with about 26 ethnically Georgian villages within it, wasn't part of the old South Ossetia. But some diplomats fear that the Russians won't remove this checkpoint and the Russians will in effect grab the land.
The attitude of many I speak to is that the Sarkozy-brokered deal is imperfect, but the best that's on offer. Those of a generous nature think it was the best deal he could get, those of a sourer disposition think that he was suckered by the Russians and simply gave them diplomatic cover for a ceasefire that gave them everything they wanted. The Russians of course will say they were defending South Ossetians and the Georgians were the aggressors.
It's the same story with the monitors. One enthusiast tells me that these men and women are more powerful than if they were armed with guns: Russia fears being embarrassed in the eyes of the world and the verdict of at least the West hangs on their reports. Others see them as mere bystanders, bearing powerless witness to whatever the Russians choose to do. We will see over the next few days.
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No doubt the anti-EU lot will be on this like wasps round a honeypot and they'll be screaming "useless", "waste of time", "appeasement", etc.
I would say "give the monitors a chance to do their job" and "let's wait and see".
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Having totally lost the information campain Russians are in fact afraid of being embarrased. Without proper investigation EU was very fast to accuse the Russians and one should not forget that it was Russia who insisted on keeping monitors in the buffer zone - not EU - instead of troops that are now being withdrawn. And also one should not forget that the ceasefire has two parties involved.
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it's amazing how rapidly russia's position has deteriorated since this war. its stock market is down 70% since its peak in june. brent crude is trading below $85 from $145 in july. russia even had to drop plans to bail out strategically located iceland, presumably because it couldn't afford it. it's come too late for georgia, but i wonder how the new financial position will affect russian attitudes towards the crimea and transnistria..
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I am surprised that the author called the conflict in Abkhazia and South Ossetia ?Europe's first war of the 21st Century? and ?a fight on the doorstep of the EU?. This conflict is a purely Asian one: first of all, geographically it happened south of the Caucasus Mountains (the southern boundary of Europe in this region). Secondly, Ossetian people are Farsi-speaking, and more associated with Iran than Europe. Finally, the nearest EU country is more than 500 miles away, and I do not see why EU should get involve in a conflict with so many powerful regional players, with a greater potential of losses than any substantial benefits (especially that the Russians did not try to attack the oil and gas pipelines in the region).
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I am disgusted at the way Russia has been treated by the EU, UK and America, it is out of fear of the re-emergence of Russia as a rich superpower. Georgia started the conflict Russia responded and the west blame Russia, this is no different than the wests tactics when dealing with the middle east or other break-away states, and with the US missle shield going ahead tensions are rising further. I wonder how America would react to Russia placing a "defensive missle shield" in Cuba? I think we all know how that one turned out......
If a new cold war breaks out remember America was the aggressor.
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I never saw the job of EU Monitor advertised? Were the British Monitors recruited from the Job Centres back in blighty?
Sounds like a nice job if you can get it - all expenses paid for an indefinite period in exotic Georgia . . . I wouldn't mind a go at that myself.
But, more importantly, what about the EU's Green Credentials?
The EU Monitors are borrowing the OSCE 4x4 Gas Guzzlers whilst their own 4x4 Gas Guzzlers are held up in Customs. That sounds a bit un-Green to me - should the EU Monitors be traveling in small, climate-friendly French made cars instead? The EU Monitors as representatives of the EU should be setting an example for the Green EU agenda!
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So, the monitors' vehicles are still held up in Customs. What does that tell you about the Georgian government's attitude to their role?
Or have I misjudged them and it's actually the Russian customs delaying the vehicles?
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#7,
That's a very good point, Mark, any chance of some real investigative journalism here to see if firstly it's true, secondly why and thirdly the ethnic origin of the customs office concerned. Conversely one could also remark that if they turn out to be Georgian they are simply trying to show how well they could fit into the bureaucratic and often stupid EU.
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In response to comment 5:
Firstly the missiles in Cuba were pointed agressively towards the USA. Secondly, this conflict started when two regions wanted to break away from its mother country and began to use violence because they could not get it. Because there were Russian speaking people in both those parts of Georgia, Russia wanted the breakaway to happen, even though it was messing with another countrys soverienty, something which it has done many times in the past.
Of course the West is worried about another Super power emerging, do you remember the iron curtain, the oppression of so many countries and its peoples such as Hungry, Poland, Czeck republic etc. I am not saying that the west or the Eu to be more precise has not commited similar acts, but lets not get passed the fact that Russia have occupied a soverign nation when they are not wanted. America the aggressor? i only see russian troops on the ground!
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#9
All fine and all with minor correction. Osetia and Abhasia do dearly want to be Russian.
They may be mad but it is a fact.
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#6 Menedemus I don't know which Customs.
I'd guess absolutely all EU forces, berets and media and diplomats - their base is Tbilsi therefore Georgian ones.
but Russian Customs are a nightmare and have always been, so I think it won't make much difference for the cars - are they to be delivered from Vladikavkaz Russia through the hole in the mountains, or from Tbilisi Georgia by plain ground.
(Russia would of course simply command own Customs to say Aye Aye sir, in such a heavy int'l case). Saaka would do exactly the same, no rules or "democracy" there either, must be have clean forgotten to give the order, after all so many guests visiting, handshakes here, there, anyone's head will turn around.
I agree with you it is a perfect place for late autum holidays now. If not a dog to walk I'd fly down Abhasia to swim there. Excellent beach, no jelly-fish, and the hell with the tanks, even more fun and pictures home.
Things are happening now there. A place to be. I am jealous I can't go.
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Alice,
I play golf almost every day and all year round - even when it is cold and wet (snow is a problem though! LOL). It really is a long walk with a stick used to hit and chase a small ball!
Golf is a game that everyone, including the Georgians and Russians should play. It is a competitive game but the only person you are trying to beat is yourself as your opponent marks your scorecard and you mark theirs - it means you have to play to the rules of golf (which are actually very few and very much common sense!) and be fair to one another. If you cheat you only cheat yourself!
A truly great game that, if everyone played, there would be peace in the world.
In England it is now autumn with the trees shedding their leaves and the nights are getting longer and temperatures are dropping but a nice game of golf in Georgia sounds like it could be fun right about now.
I wonder where I sign up to be a EU Peace Monitor and Golf Tutor for Georgians and any Russians in the neighbourhood?
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Menedemus, "peace in the world".
You haven't seen how Russians play golf!
In fact, may be it's better, that you haven't.
:-)
I am joking of course. Must be you are right.
Still, can't imagine a hot-tempered Georgian playing golf. But I can imagine you as a teacher there. Aaand - bang - ooops - into that aviation bomb hole - aaand - here we - bang! over that gas tube of Azerbajan, nice and easy, aaand - bang! that was in fact a hit into a blue beret... the terrain is a natural wonder there.
(I played golf only once which largely consisted of driving like mad around the place in golf cart (I wasn't at the wheel) until we smashed into a tree at full speed, and that's all I remember about golf ever after.)
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eastwestworld,
Saying that Ossetian people speak Farsi equals to claiming that English speak German. Otherwise, I agree with you: strictly speaking, the conflict occured on the doorstep of Europe rather then in it.
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Mardell, I believe that you can do better...."A Russian soldier, who looks about 14, ..."??!!. Only toothless Serbs are missing to fill your picture.
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Lt_Rinas,
simply unpleasant to see the thread ending by such an aggressive post as yours is.
Why get so hysterical, about "14" ?
Here - in Russia - boys get drafted at 18.
Military office tries to catch them the day before, lest they vanish in the large country and run away from them.
Who ends up in the army? 2 sorts. One - "military bones", like, his father was a colonel, and grandfather a lieutenant, and he also wants to be like the whole family and gets packed to a cadet school at the age of 8-9.
The other kind is poor children, from peasant families, who don't live in large cities, don't have money to bribe various commissions, don't have a variety of medical clinics and hospitals in their area, to go to the paid medicine and do various health checks to find something defective about you like asthma or bad yey-sight, whatever, to get papers making one free from compulsory draft to the army.
As it often happens the ones that end up in the army are much more sickly and under-fed than the ones who escaped it!
So, with deep regret medical military commissions have to let go away from the army service many to-become-soldiers, about 20% I heard, who simply don't qualify by simple weight/to height proportions !
Small or thin. They'd love to grab them - but they can't hold a rifle! so to say.
I'd think Mark happened to see one of those, unless it was a boy from the military cadet school.
In any case for me, a Russian, this is an interesting observation. Because we were told that only "kontraktniki", those who volunteered to the army, and are paid for the work, were sent to Georgia. The men who volunteer and sign the contract are normally, how to say, fit for the French legion, have no problems with height and weight, as minimum. So must be all is not so wonderful as we are told, and draftees are also there.
And what's this with "teethless serbs"?
How did you end up hating both Russians and Serbs together? In the observable European past - noone saw combined "Serbian - Russian" operations or wars on the ground?
Are you an Albanian, may be, or what?
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Mark: I disagree with the enthusiast: the monitors are not more powerful unarmed, but rather more influential unarmed.
eastwestworld: Perhaps the EU got involved to prevent further escalation within the region ? Is there not enough misery to go around for thousands of people there, in the aftermath of the events of August ?
Zephanniah: We do not yet know how that one has turned out, as the embargo against Cuba is still in place.
mmcnaughton: As opposed to the Jupiter missiles in Turkey which were passively pointed at nothing in particular ?
Menedemus: Are there not orange golf balls available for enthusiasts who enjoy golfing on snow ?
WebAliceinwonderland: I understood the comment by Lt_Rinas as being critical of Mark's opening line, the "toothless Serbs" comment perhaps implying that it was the only thing missing from a stereotypical article in the Western press about non-NATO countries such as Russia and Serbia. I disagree with Lt_Rinas, as I do not see a comment about a single youthful-looking soldier as forming such a stereotypical article. That soldier might well be a contracted volunteer, his appearance notwithstanding.
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Jan_Keesop @ 17
Yes, indeedy, there are golf balls of all sorts of colours and even novelty golf balls with pretty colour patterns.
But I have tried playing golf in peasouper fog and snow - the balls go one way and the player inevitably goes to look for his/her ball in another direction . . . .
The golfer may as well be colour blind! :=)
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Russians guard not conflict zones but communism, but it cannot survive; they still cannot get it.
Here is what : Russians clearly miss the state benefits, healthcare, retirement and job security. But if they see that other EU countries have free healthcare system too, they'd change their course. but I'm afraid what they really want is power.
What is unaccapable from communism is robbing those who are smarter and harder working, taking away any surplus from people and not even distribute it evenly as marx suggested. It was not done so. Communists created clans and those in charge were stealing people's money. Everything was accessible for state officials, every system was corrupted. Even school teachers and University professors were corrupted.
If new Russian bolshebiks are not apprehanded they will do the same as they did in 1918. Rob, kill or excile hard working people with the help of lazy ones.
look what these soldiers did. they looted Georgian villages: they took even toilet seats, utensiles, furniture. When I saw this I though omg...this is what my grandpa was telling me about, this is how they robbed his family and then sent him to Siberia for disobedience. They robbed us and we lived in povery afterwords. When finally we started living better, they cicked us out from our house in Abkhazia, where my ancestors always lived.
This is what russians wanna do now: God forbid if they win 90% of ethnic Georgians will be prosecuted or exciled. this is what They have been planning based on Rusian Duma's Zhirinovski's speech. Zhirinovski said Georgians should not live there,as if Tbilisi was found by Ossetians (who by the way lived in Rostov-Don in the 5th century when tbilisi was found by King Gorgasali)
and that Kutaisi was the Capital of Abkhazia (Kutaisi is the largest city in the West Georgia)
Proof:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMLXZ-oggBY
I would not pay attention what this diggy clueless man says, but I see Duma applauding to his speeches and he was one of the main persons who gave so called independence to thsese Georgian territories. So you tell me if Russian governemnt does not have even worse plans for Georgia.
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ingag11,
I am Russian - for the beginning, so that you don't mix me up and don't wonder who I am, but simply know when writing.
I don't think you should worry for Georgians who stayed within SO and Abkhasia now, and the ones who are in Russia.
First of all - most ran away from SO and AB.
Secondary - those who stayed - because governments of all kinds are very greedy "issueing houses" - and people stay where their only house on the planet is - as simple as that - rest assured these will be protected by Russia.
Kremlin can't lose face now, will take all measures that Georgians who stayed one way or another in SO and Abkhasia have nothing to complain about. These rare Georgians are already sought after by Russian media and can't go to the yard without meeting media - "how exactly are you today? nobody offending you God prevent?"
This is a matter of concern now.
And all Rus. media these days interview Georgians in Russia - if they had any difficulties in the post-offices to transfer money home, or if their businesses are pressed by authorities or anything. Kremlin is eager to prove to the world that Georgians in Russia do not suffer.
I don't know how long this will last, but for the next winter till spring, with all int'kl repercussions, you can feel safe, if only about this.
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In Response to #19
"Russians guard not conflict zones but communism..."
I do not know which secluded island you're from - USA or UK - but entire world can assure you that the strive to implement Communist Ideology in Russia has ended in 1991.
Now, considering that Russia has been traditionally a capitalist nation-state for longer period of time than US' entire existance, I would like to ask you: Are you more afraid of Russia's conservative society and capitalist structure?
Stop viewing Russia's 1,000 year history through a 70 year Communist ideology, unless you want to be viewed through a lens of genocide of indigenous populations and slavery - precisely what North America, Australia, Greenland, and Africa fell victim to by the "democratically oriented" English nation.
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It is amazing how much hate still there for Soviet Union and now Russia. And you know it clicked with me just now! McCain helped me! Sure he has his own personal reasons being interrogated by KGB too in Vietnam (though no "water boarding" needed as he bubbled it all out himself as his Vietnam buddies testify).
But what really put me on the right track is when our brave zoldaten MacCain just recently accused Obama of being socialist saying with his evil cancer stricken smirk: "He wants to spread wealth around"
They still afraid!!! Since the beginning of last century when the socialist movement in US and Europe was strong and the Business owners were hiring people to kill the union activists they are afraid. For simple Americans they made up scary stories that commies have no respect for the families and they will take you wifes!!! Serious. As the simple people couldn't understand what wealth is going to be spread around as they didn't have a wealth.
So the probable reason for hate is not that there are no democracy (As US supported every dictator since WWII) but pure GREED!!
They somehow afraid that commies will be back for their PERSONAL shit. Like they will split MacCain's 14 houses for all. Funny.
Well the second reason I thing that there were too many sovietologists who with the few dissidents were basically paid to say shit. They are still alive - very much so. Like the both Secretaries of State: Dogy-Condy and Frogy-Olby.
Well Russians will have to wait till they will die out like a dinosaurs.
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What Russia has been doing is unbelievable. As Ilaryonov said there will be no cold war but there will be more than that. Ilaryonov used to be Putin's advisor, but he did not agree with his policy that led to what we see in Georgia now ; so they are in different teams now.
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Russian "peace mission":)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0fUuOtyaVo
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i am the only one blogging here but i have something to say. It seems to me that the biggest criminal in Georgian turmoil is the United Nations, which has been aware for a long long tome, over 20 years, that Russia was the part of the conflict but still kept extending its mandate. i guess it could not resist the temptetion. Russian rubles tasted too sweet to the UN to say no. What does UN do anyway. I have not heard about their success in any conflict, just the contrary, people hoped for help and there was no help.
In 2003 I wrote to them about what was going on in so called S. Ossetia. So called Russian "peacekeeprers" blocked the roads and did not let people to vote in Georgian elections. Then Ossetians burnt down the participent's house (Ossetian Prophecy:)).
UN played a blind fool and still kept esxtending mandates though we kept reporting about abuses, lootings, crimes. UN just did not care. What is the funtion of the UN anyway?
And just recently it charged Georgia not Russia? Too shocking to digest this.
When Georgia was bleeding from heart everyone was silent - it reminded me "the silence of the lambs".
Georgian people are tired, very very tired and if one more thing goes wrong, If NATO rescedules its accesstion, I promise things will change radically. People are waiting for December and that will decide the future of Georgia. I see Germans saying they do feel they are rsponsible but they prefer to stay out of it. We'll do the same thing. If you do not care aout us why should we? We are not just a pipelines we have names and faces and are actual human beings if you may not know about it.
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Ingag11, you better write not to UN but to Medvedev. I am serious, you know other ways don't work here, when locally you can't reach what you want, Russians write simply "Moscow, Kremlin, President."
You have this issue, with the house or half-house lost in Abkhasia. Ask a straight simple question - how this will be resolved. Say you are Georgian, live in ? UK ?
Now, Kremlin always replies. I don't know what you will get as a reply, but something you will. I guess we will all be interested what it is. In the worst case you will be re-referred to the Abkhasian president, like they might write it is an independent country now and Bagapsh is in charge.
I don't think you have much to lose in writing. And may be something to gain.
Clip some documents for the house xerox.
Don't write nasty stuff, write simply - would like to know.
They might give some dates, or address of come commission in charge of sorting out the mutual claims, refugees property or something.
Because where is such a commission - you will not find the answer in the EU, I am afraid.
May be something will work out of it.
I don't know how you can even go to Abkhasia now. What's visas situation, do you need some? where to get from? like you wish to go see your house, what's happened with it. is it still there. who lives there in this case.
You don't have any acquaintance there, to ask to go have a look?
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