Russia

WASHINGTON — President Bush rebuked Russia for its "irresponsible decision" Tuesday to formally recognize two breakaway Georgian regions, which further raised fears of a new Cold War. Adding to the tension, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev threatened an unspecified military response if the United States follows through with a missile-defense system near Russia's borders in Poland and the Czech Republic. Bush warned Russia to respect the border of neighboring Georgia and its separatist provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which were at the heart of the week-long battle between Russia and Georgia this month. Bush pointed out that Medvedev's action is "inconsistent" with United Nations Security Council resolutions and with the cease-fire agreement.

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — A U.S. military ship carrying humanitarian aid docked at the Georgian Black Sea port of Batumi on Wednesday, avoiding the port of Poti, which is still controlled by Russian forces. The move came amid escalating tensions between Russia and Georgia's Western allies. Batumi, where the Coast Guard cutter Dallas docked, is well south of the zone of fighting in this month's war between Russia and Georgia.

BRUSSELS (AP) — A deal allowing NATO to supply its troops in Afghanistan using Russian territory is still valid despite Moscow's decision to freeze military cooperation over the Georgia crisis, Russia's top military envoy to the alliance said Wednesday. The agreement, signed in April by former Russian President Vladimir Putin, allows the transport of non-lethal supplies overland through Russia to the NATO-led force in Afghanistan. "We are not going to suspend the decision on nonmilitary cargo transport," Col. Andrey Zhukov, Russian's acting military representative at NATO, told reporters. A 2006 deal under which NATO nations lease transport planes from private companies from Russia and Ukraine is also unaffected by last week's decision by Moscow to suspend military cooperation, Zhukov told a news conference Wednesday.

CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — Russia's ambassador to Moldova has warned the country's leaders to avoid a "bloody and catastrophic trend of events" in a separatist Moldovan region. The Trans-Dniester region broke away from the former Soviet republic of Moldova in 1990. It is supported by Russia but is not recognized internationally. Russia has 1,500 troops stationed there to guard weapons facilities. Ambassador Valeri Kuzmin said late Tuesday that Moldova should draw its own conclusions over the events in Georgia. Russia recognized the independence of two Georgian breakaway regions.

VIENNA (AP) — Georgia's foreign minister warns that ethnic cleansing of Georgians is taking place in South Ossetia and will soon be completed. Eka Tkeshelashvili says the process is being implemented not only in villages in the conflict zone where Georgians and Ossetians lived together. Russian troops remain at checkpoints well into Georgia, saying that a cease-fire agreement allows them to occupy "security zones" outside Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Russia/Georgia

MOSCOW (AP) — Defying the United States and Europe, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced Tuesday he has signed a decree recognizing the independence of the breakaway Georgian territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Few other nations are likely to follow Russia's lead but the move is sure to further escalate tensions between Moscow and the West. Experts say the move gives the Kremlin an extra bargaining chip in its dealings with the West as it tries to reassert influence in the former Soviet republics and resist moves by Georgia and Ukraine to join NATO. Medvedev's declaration comes as Russian forces remain in Georgia after a war, staking out positions beyond the de-facto borders of the separatist regions. Abkhazia and South Ossetia have effectively ruled themselves following wars with Georgia in the 1990s. Russia's military presence seems likely to further weaken Georgia, a Western ally in the Caucasus region, a major transit corridor for energy supplies to Europe and a strategic crossroads close to the Middle East, Iran, Afghanistan, Russia and energy-rich Central Asia.

In a direct challenge to Russia, the United States announced Tuesday it intends to deliver humanitarian aid to the beleaguered Georgian port city of Poti, which Russian troops still control through checkpoints on the city's outskirts. The aid will be delivered Wednesday by ship, a U.S. embassy spokesman said. Western nations have called the Russian military presence in Poti a clear violation of an EU-brokered cease-fire. In a move that angered Russia, the United States sent the missile destroyer USS McFaul to the southern Georgian port of Batumi, well away from the conflict zone, to deliver 34 tons of humanitarian aid on Sunday.

A Congressional battle over funding of a U.S. missile defense plan in Eastern Europe threatens to undermine the Bush administration's case that the system is not aimed at Russia. President George W. Bush's administration has argued that the missile shield — bolstered last week by an agreement to allow U.S. interceptors in Poland — was aimed at securing the United States and allies in the region from nuclear threats by North Korea and Iran. But as Republicans try to convince Democrats to speed along legislation to fund the program, they are pointing to Russia's invasion of Georgia as a reason the program is vital. The rhetoric risks strengthening Moscow's argument that the system is merely a new Cold War incarnation directed against them.

Russia/Georgia

IGOETI, Georgiac (AP) — A Russian armored column moved away from a base in western Georgia and Russian forces also were leaving the key central city of Gori on Friday, the day that Russia's president had said a pullback would be complete. No Russian forces could be seen Friday afternoon in and around Igoeti, which had been their closest position to Georgia's capital. Russia sent its tanks and troops into Georgia after Georgiaprovince of South Ossetia. Fighting also has flared in a second Georgian breakaway region, Abkhazia. The short war has driven tensions between RussiaSoviet Union. launched a heavy artillery barrage Aug. 7 on the separatist, pro-Russian and the West to some of their highest levels since the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union.

It may not be possible for the 12,000 ethnic Georgians to return home who have fled the territory after the Russian military assault began nearly two weeks ago. The Russian offensive has altered the balance of power in South Ossetia, just as it has chilled the relationship between Moscow and Washington more than at any time since the Cold War. A result of the fighting is that Georgians may no longer be welcome in long-troubled South Ossetia. Russian troops control South Ossetia, the area at the heart of the Georgia-Russia conflict. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says he doesn't want to give it up. A top Russian general said Wednesday that 64 of the country's soldiers were killed in this month's fighting with Georgia and 323 were wounded. South Ossetian officials on Wednesday said 1,492 civilians in the breakaway province had been killed.

The world's major industrial countries are calling for increased economic support for war-torn Georgia. Finance ministers from the Group of Seven leading industrial countries issued a joint statement Wednesday pledging support for Georgia's economy and its financial system. They also urged other countries and institutions to assist in the effort. "We, the G-7, stand ready to support Georgia in order to promote the continued health of the Georgian economy, maintain confidence in Georgia's financial system and support economic reconstruction," the finance officials said.

Russia/Georgia

VIENNA (AP) — The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe agreed Tuesday to immediately send 20 additional unarmed military monitors to areas near South Ossetia and eventually to deploy up to 80 more. The OSCE already has eight military monitors in the region as part of its 200-person mission in Georgia. Six were in South Ossetia's capital, Tskhinvali, until they were evacuated to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi after their field office was shelled during the recent fighting between Georgian and Russian troops.

NATO is accusing Russia of failing to honor the full terms of the cease-fire agreement brokered by the European Union last week aimed at ending the fighting in Georgia. NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said today that Russian forces are still inside Georgia despite the agreement to withdraw

Russia

GORI, Georgia (AP) — Russia's deputy chief of staff insisted Monday that Russian troops and tanks have begun to withdraw from the conflict zone with Georgia, but left unclear exactly what Russia thought the dimensions of that zone were. The statement by Col.-Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn came amid uncertainty about whether Russia was fulfilling President Dmitry Medvedev's promise to begin a troop pullout Monday after signing an EU-backed cease-fire. Earlier in the day, Russian forces around the strategically key Georgian city of Gori had shown no sign of moving away and even appeared to be solidifying their positions.

TBILISI, Georgia — The Georgian government said Saturday night that Russian forces control half the country and that the nation's railroad system has been shut down after a bridge was blown. It also accused Russian forces of deliberately setting fires that threaten electricity and some cellphone communications as far as Tbilisi, the Georgian capital. The actions, the government said, are occurring despite Russian President Dmitry Medvedev having signed a cease-fire agreement earlier in the day. The cease-fire agreement, which Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili signed on Friday, calls for the withdrawal Russian combat troops from the country. It was unclear Saturday night how soon that would be and what sort of actions will occur in Russian-occupied territory before they do..

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — The U.N.'s highest court has scheduled three days of hearings next month about Georgia's request to order Russia to stop attacks on ethnic Georgians. Georgia claims the attacks amount to a persistent campaign of racial discrimination. The International Court of Justice says it will hear arguments from both sides beginning Sept. 8 at its seat in The Hague. Georgia has filed a suit seeking compensation for what it claims is nearly two decades of ethnic cleansing of Georgians in the breakaway districts of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The United States has called an emergency meeting of NATO foreign ministers to review the alliance's worsening relations with Russia following Moscow's military intervention in Georgia. The military alliance is expected to consider a range of upcoming activities planned with Russia — from military exercises to ministerial meetings — and decide case by case at the meeting Tuesday whether to go ahead with each activity. Allied ministers also will discuss support for a planned international monitoring mission in the region and a package of support to help Georgia rebuild infrastructure damaged in its devastating defeat at the hands of the Russian armed forces.

MOSCOW (AP) — A top Russian general said Friday that Poland's agreement to accept a U.S. missile defense battery exposes the country to attack, pointing out that Russian miltiary doctrine permits the use of nuclear weapons in such a situation, the Interfax news agency reported. The statement by Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn is the strongest threat that Russia has issued against the plans to put missile defense elements in former Soviet satellite nations. Poland and the United States on Thursday signed a deal for Poland to accept a missile defense battery as part of a system the United States says is aimed at blocking attacks by rogue nations but that Moscow claims is aimed at weakening Russia.

• JJ Commentary: Russia is prophesied to be a key player in the end-time buildup to Armageddon.

Wars & Rumors of Wars

TSKHINVALI, Georgia (AP) — Georgian troops launched a major military offensive Friday to regain control over the breakaway province of South Ossetia, prompting a furious response from Russia — which vowed retaliation and sent a column of tanks into the region. A Russian military officer says that 10 Russian peacekeepers have been killed and another 30 wounded in the breakaway Georgian province of South Ossetia. Russian Ground Forces spokesman Col. Igor Konashenkov says the Russians were killed and injured during Georgian shelling of their barracks. The fighting was the worst outbreak of hostilities since the province won de-facto independence in a war that ended in 1992 — raising fears that war could once again erupt. Georgia's president said today that his country is under attack by Russian tanks and warplanes, and he accused Russia of targeting civilians as tensions over the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia appeared to boil over into full-blown conflict.

Fighting raged for a second day in the Georgian separatist region of South Ossetia on Saturday, as Georgia's interior ministry accused Russia of launching new air attacks on three military bases and key facilities for shipping oil to the West. Russia sent hundreds of tanks and troops into the separatist province of South Ossetia and bombed Georgian towns Saturday in a major escalation of the conflict that has left scores of civilians dead and wounded. Georgia, a staunch U.S. ally, launched a major offensive Friday to retake control of breakaway South Ossetia. Georgia's parliament Saturday approved a request by President Mikhail Saakashvili's to impose a "state of war," as the conflict between Georgia and Russia escalated, Georgian officials said.

Russian-Islamic Alignment

JERUSALEM – Syria, aided by Russia and Iran, in recent months has been furiously acquiring rockets and missiles, including projectiles capable of hitting the entire state of Israel, according to Jordanian and Israeli security officials speaking to World Net Daily. A Jordanian security official said one of the main reasons Damascus did not retaliate after Israel carried out its Sept. 6 airstrike inside Syria allegedly targeting a nascent nuclear facility was because Syria's rocket infrastructure was not yet complete. The official said after the Israeli airstrike, Syria picked up the pace of acquiring rockets and missiles, largely from Russia with Iranian backing, with the goal of completing its missile and rocket arsenal by the end of the year. The Jordanian official said Syria is aiming to possess enough projectiles to fire over 100 rockets into Israel per hour for a sustained period of time.

According to Israeli and Jordanian officials, Syria recently quietly struck a deal with Russia that allows Moscow to station submarines and warboats off Syrian ports. In exchange, Russia is supplying Syria with weaponry at lower costs, with some of the missiles and rockets being financed by Iran. Russia has also been helping Iran with its nuclear ambitions.

• JJ Commentary: Russia (Rosh) is aligning itself more and more with Islamic nations, just as the Bible foretells in Ezekiel.38:2-5 with regard to Armageddon
  

End-Time Alignment Forms

RUSSIA: The barely reported highlight of Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Tehran for the Caspian Sea summit last week was a key face-to-face meeting with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. A high-level diplomatic source in Tehran tells Asia Times Online that essentially Putin and the Supreme Leader have agreed on a plan to nullify the George W Bush administration's relentless drive towards launching a preemptive attack, perhaps a tactical nuclear strike, against Iran. An American attack on Iran will be viewed by Moscow as an attack on Russia.

• JJ Commentary: The Bible prophesies that Russian will align itself with the former Persian and Arab countries against Israel in the latter days. (Ezekiel 38,39 where “Rosh” is Russia in the NKJV).