Folks, it seems as if everyone’s favorite Georgian President is spoiling for a Round 2 with Moscow.
Despite the presence of Russian troops on Georgian soil, President Mikhail Saakashvili said the West would help his country regain control of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the separatist regions of Georgia recognized as independent nations by Moscow last month.
“Our territorial integrity will be restored, I am more convinced of this than ever,” Saakashvili said in a televised appearance. “This will not be an easy process, but now this is a process between an irate Russia and the rest of the world.”
“Our goal is the return of our territory and the peaceful unification of Georgia,” he said.
– excerpt from “Georgian president vows to reclaim 2 provinces “, AP, 2008
You know, I felt bad about what happened in Georgia. Tbilisi’s top man should have known better than to try and call Moscow’s bluff. Washington should have also known better than to egg on Saakashvilli. Nobody ended up a winner in this, well maybe Gazprom, but who knows I’ll defer to Jerome a Paris on that.