Stubb voices optimism over Georgia deal

Finnish and French foreign ministers hold talks in Moscow on Tuesday

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Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Stubb (Nat. Coalition Party), who currently serves as chairman of the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said in Moscow on Tuesday that Russia is taking a cautiously positive view on a proposal for a ceasefire with Georgia put forward by the OSCE and the European Union.
      Stubb and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner presented the proposed agreement to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday morning.
      Georgia’s President Mikhail Saakashvili agreed to the terms of the proposal on Monday.
      Discussions on the crisis in South Ossetia continue in Moscow in the afternoon, when French President Nicolas Sarkozy meets with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev.
      Earlier in the day the Kremlin announced that President Medvedev had decided to end the military operation in Georgia.
     
On Monday Stubb and Kouchner were in the Georgian city of Gori, which appeared deserted.
      On Sunday, a day after a Russian air strike had killed at least 14 civilians and 20 soldiers, there were people to be seen on the streets in the Georgian city. Now most have fled and the rest have sought shelter for fear of new attacks.
      On Monday Stubb and Kouchner looked silently at homes damaged by the air strikes.
      Before they moved on to Moscow, the Georgians wanted to show the foreign ministers some of the destruction that had taken place in Gori.
      “When you see the effects of war, you wake up to the situation in a different way. It hits you in the face”, a shaken Stubb said while examining the destroyed buildings. “After seeing this, I feel that it is more important than ever that we try to find a peaceful solution to the situation.”
     
As the ministers were leaving for the next destination, President Saakashvili arrived at the scene in an armoured vehicle.
      The President, wearing a flak jacket, stepped out of the car, surrounded by security personnel. He spoke briefly with the foreign ministers and journalists, and asked everyone to move on to a military hospital.
      It was then that the sound of jet fighters taking off could be heard. No planes were to be seen in the sky, but the sound grew increasingly loud.
      Some of the soldiers ran for cover. An old man urged a journalist to take shelter behind the steps of a building. The security guards pushed President Saakashvili quickly back into the car, and left for Tbilisi.
      After a moment of confusion, all those in the OSCE and EU convoy got into the cars, and the group moved on to the military hospital. The visit was nevertheless cut short.
      “There may be bombers coming. We have to leave”, Stubb said in the yard of the hospital, and the convoy moved on to the Georgian capital Tbilisi.
     
Early in the evening President Saakashvili held a press conference in the courtyard of the President’s residence, which is still under construction. He suggested that in Gori, he and the ministers may have been targeted in an attack.
      “A Russian plane came very low and apparently aimed at us”, Saakashvili said.
      However, he did not want to give a direct answer to the question of whether or not he was accusing Russia of trying to hit the Georgian President.
     
By firing on Gori, which lies just 70 kilometres from the capital, Saakashvili says that the Russians have made it clear what the aim of the operation is.
      He said that the Russians have said openly that the aim is to overthrow Georgia’s democratically-elected government.
      The President called the Russian invasion an attempt to occupy Georgia, in an attempt to destroy the post-Cold War structure.
      Saakashvili appealed to the international community to “wake up and speak with one voice” against the Russian action.
     
On Tuesday, Stubb and Kouchner are meeting with Russian leaders to discuss a way out of the crisis in South Ossetia.
      At their meeting with President Dmitri Medvedev and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the two will put forward the proposed ceasefire agreement drawn up by the EU and the OSCE.
      Georgia’s President Mikhail Saakashvili signed the proposal on Monday.

More on this subject:
 Seven Finns evacuated from Georgia

Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finnish and French foreign ministers hold talks with Georgian President (11.8.2008)

Helsingin Sanomat