Russia: We must stop bloodthirsty Georgia
Russia defends military action in South Ossetia, likening Georgia to bloodthirsty animal
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Tuesday, 12, Aug 2008 06:56
Russia has defended its military action in South Ossetia, likening Georgia to a bloodthirsty animal.
Dmitry Medvedev told a news conference Georgia's army was guilty of ethnic cleansing in the breakaway province, whose situation he compared to Kosovo.
Earlier today the Russian president ordered his army chiefs to halt fighting in its Caucasus neighbour, calling on Georgian troops to withdraw and abide by their own ceasefire pledge.
Speaking alongside his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy, Mr Medvedev said Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili and his generals were "crazy people".
"We must make a stand to stop them," he told journalists.
Mr Sarkozy, in Moscow for talks ahead of a trip to Tbilisi to meet Mr Saakashvili, hailed the commitment from both sides not to use violence but stressed a number of goals were not yet achieved.
He called on Russia to respect and guarantee Georgia's sovereignty.
"We are not at peace yet," Mr Sarkozy explained.
"At this stage we have a temporary cessation of hostilities which is certainly significant. But the night is long and we want to have the best possible result."
The French leader - who is currently president of the European Union - added that Russia had "no intention" of staying in Georgia, which sparked the conflict by attacking South Ossetian separatists last Thursday.
Russia responded by pouring troops into the province and deeper into Georgia, reasserting its aerial dominance and launching air strikes against military and civilian targets.
Mr Medvedev told journalists today that Russia had restored the status quo in South Ossetia and protected its citizens.
He confirmed Russia was committed to respecting Georgia's sovereignty but said "territorial integrity" was a better representation of the true state of affairs.
"Sometimes when things look very good on paper in real life the situation is very different," he explained.
"[South Ossetia] is a very complicated matter that cannot be solved [by politics].
"Territorial integrity means that people with to live in the same state. Do South Ossetians and Georgians want to share the same state?
"It is not up to Russia to answer it."