The war in the Caucasus tonight appeared to have ended after five days with a victorious Kremlin agreeing to a ceasefire on terms that left Georgia and its Western backers weakened.

President Medvedev ordered his troops in South Ossetia to hold their fire and fixed a six-point peace plan with President Sarkozy of France, who spent three hours hammering out the details with Mr Medvedev and Vladimir Putin, the Prime Minister.

Forces are to withdraw to their positions before Georgia attacked.

Humanitarian operations are to be undertaken for a civilian population which, according to the Russians, has suffered up to 2,000 casualties. But the deal throws open for discussion the future status of Georgia’s two breakaway provinces, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which both want to become part of Russia.

Mr Putin’s presence at the session confirmed that the former President retains supreme power in Moscow. Russia’s fierce and fast response to Georgia’s attack last Thursday carried his hallmark although he remained out of media view today. His tough and well-planned military operation underlined the West’s weakness in the face of an assertive Russia. It especially embarrassed the United States which has strongly promoted Mr Saakashvili’s pro-Atlantic Government as a democratic model in Moscow ‘s Caucasian back yard.

Mr Sarkozy, who was brokering the accords because France holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said that Georgia had accepted the deal although fighting continued in south Ossetia and Russian forces bombed near the Georgian town of Gori today. Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, appeared later to toughen the terms, saying that Georgia must also sign a binding treaty on the non use of force. Mr Lavrov has also demanded the departure of President Saakashvili.

Peace talks were delayed by argument over Russia’s determination to “mop up pockets of resistance” according to the French. Despite the ceasefire pledge, Russia launched an offensive in the only part of Abkhazia still under Georgian control. Some 135 Russian military vehicles were seen driving through Georgia en route to Abkhazia’s Kodori Gorge, the last zone held by the Georgians. Abkhazian officials claimed their forces, not the Russians, were carrying out artillery attacks in the Kodori Gorge.

In what was the first confirmation that Russian soldiers had moved to the outskirts of the city from South Ossetia, up to four fragmentation shells landed around Gori’s main square, where a statue of Joseph Stalin, the late Soviet dictator, still stands. One shell killed a Dutch television cameraman and wounded his correspondent colleague. “There was a noise and then suddenly explosions. We didn’t hear any aircraft, they just came from nowhere, the poor journalists never stood a chance,” said a witness. The Times was shown a fragment of what appeared to be a Grad missile that had struck an apartment building just behind the main square.

The French president was firmly on the defensive over the agreement to open talks on the future of the provinces that Georgia claims as its own. He insisted on Moscow’s agreement to respect Georgian sovereignty and said that he had not “lacked courage” in proposing a deal that raised questions about the territorial integrity of Georgia. .

However Mr Medvedev made clear with angry and sometimes crude remarks that Moscow blames Tbilisi for the violence and aims to hammer home its advantage. Tbilisi had committed genocide and its leaders should face punishment for ethnic cleansing, he said.

“When crazy people smell blood, it’s impossible to stop them. You have to use surgery to stop them,” he said. He also accused the west of using double standards by approving of the independence of the Serbian province of Kosovo earlier this year while also protecting “bastards and terrorists” with talk about inviolable sovereignty.

Both Georgia and Russia said tonight that they were planning to file complaints for ethnic cleansing against one another at the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

In Georgia, the government again accused the Russians of massacre. A big crowd gathered outside the Parliament in Tbilisi, hailing Mr Saakashvili as a hero for defending his country against aggression. Demonstrators held up posters showing a photograph of Mr Putin with the caption:“Wanted: Crimes against humanity in the world.” Mr Saakashvili then appeared to cheers and pledged that one day Georgia would beat Russia.“I promise you today, that I’ll remind them of everything they have done and one day we will win,” he said.

In the United States, there was widespread dismay over the ease with which Moscow had imposed its will on a loyal US ally. President Bush said on late Monday: “Russia has invaded a sovereign neighboring state and threatens a democratic government elected by its people.

Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century.” President Sarkozy, who had to juggle opposing views among fellow EU leaders, said that the priority was a ceasefire, not passing judgment. He also proposed EU peacekeepers if the belligerents wanted them. The EU split over the US desire to offer Nato membership to Georgia last March. Italy and Germany were opposed while Poland and the other former Soviet-zone states were in favour.

In Washington conservatives said the Russian invasion of Ossetia and Georgia had inflicted profound damage on the goal of helping aspiring democracies in the Caucasus. Ariel Cohen, a senior research fellow at the Washington-based Heritage Foundation, said the Russian invasion was the West’s “hour of truth”. Russia, he said, has shown that it can sabotage American and EU efforts to integrate emerging democracies into Western structures such as Nato.

U.S. President George W. Bush warned Russia to reserve its course in Georgia, otherwise warned its actions would jeopardize Moscow’s relations with U.S. and EU.

“I am deeply concerned by reports that Russian troops have moved beyond the [South Ossetian] zone of conflict, attacked the Georgian town of Gori and are threatening Georgia's capital of Tbilisi,” he said in a special statement from the White House.

“There is evidence that Russian forces may soon begin bombing the civilian airport in the capital city. If these reports are accurate, these Russian actions would represent a dramatic and brutal escalation of the conflict in Georgia.”

He said that these actions were inconsistent with “the assurances we have received from Russia that its objectives were limited to restoring status quo in South Ossetia, that existed before the fighting began on August 6.”

“It now appears that an effort may be underway to depose [Georgia's] duly elected government. Russia has invaded the sovereign neighboring state and threatens the democratic government elected by its people,” he said. “Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century.”

He said that Tbilisi had already expected the elements of peace agreement that the Russian government previously said it would be willing to accept.

The proposal involves:

• An immediate ceasefire;
• Withdrawal of forces from the zone of conflict;
• A return to the military status quo as of August 6;
• Committeemen not to use force;

Bush said that the French and Finnish Foreign Ministers, after traveling to Georgia, were in Moscow, seeking Russia’s agreement on this peace plan.

“Russian government must reverse the course it appears to be on and accept this peace agreement as a first step towards resolving this conflict,” he said. “Russia’s actions have substantially damage Russia’s standing in the world and these actions jeopardize Russia’s relations with the United States and Europe.”

Currently there are no armed clashes anywhere in Georgia, Alexandre Lomaia, the secretary of Georgia’s National Security Council, said at midnight.

He confirmed the Russian Defense Ministry’s announcement that the Russian forces pulled back from Senaki.

Meanwhile, PM Lado Gurgenidze said Russian forces were in port of Poti. The Russian side has, however, denied that.

PM Gurgenidze called on the Tbilisi residents to remain calm as there was no reason for panic. “No attack is expected on Tbilisi tonight,” he said.

August 11th

14:30 Senaki base is bombed by Russian aviation.

13:30 President Saakashvili signs a ceasefire agreement, prepared by the foreign ministers of France, Finland, and Georgia. The foreign ministers of France and Finland are taking the agreement to Moscow in order to persuade President Medvedev to sign it.
http://www.gpb.ge/moambe_news.php?lang=eng&tm_id=0&news_id=16190

12:05 Russian aviation is bombing Georgian servicemen in Upper Abkhazia.

10:00 Village of Eredvi came under the fire of Russian artillery.

07:15 Senaki airport is bombed by Russian airplanes.

06:10 Gori tank battalion is bombed. A civilian apartment building nearby has been hit.

05:00 Shiraki airfield in Dedoplistskaro District on the east of the country is bombed by Russian jets.

04:37 Civilian radar station in the village of Leninisi in 5 kilometers from downtown Tbilisi.

03:05 Villages of Sharabidzeebi, Kapandichi, Makho near Batumi are bombed by Russian planes. Graveyard and villagers’ backyard have been hit. No casualties reported.

00:30 Civilian radar station in the village of Shavshvebi west of Gori is bombed by Russian planes.

00:00 Five wounded policemen transported to Zugdidi hospital from Upper Abkhazia.

According to reliable information held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Russian servicemen and separatists carry out mass arrests of peaceful civilians of Georgian origin still remaining on the territory of the Tskhinvali region and subsequently concentrate them on the territory of the village of Kurta.

Georgia appeals to the International Red Cross and other humanitarian and international organizations and the international community as a whole to immediately take decisive and effective measures for the evacuation of this population from the conflict zone.

** UPDATE **
URGENT: Russian Ground Forces Invade Georgia, Georgian Army Retreats to Defend Capital; Government Appeals for Urgent International Intervention

At this hour, the invading army of the Russian Federation has entered Georgian territory outside the conflict zones of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The Georgian army is retreating to defend the capital. The Government is urgently seeking international intervention to prevent the fall of Georgia and the further loss of life.

"We no longer know the limits of the invading Russian army—Russia seems intent on overthrowing the democratically elected government of Georgia and occupying the country," said Alexander Lomaia, the Secretary of the National Security Council. "As a consequence, the National Security Council has just decided to bring the Georgian army to Tbilisi in order to defend the capital and prevent the fall of Georgia."

European political leaders, including Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, are in Tbilisi meeting now with the President of Georgia to seek a way to stop the Russian onslaught.

The Government of Georgia announced a unilateral cease fire on Sunday morning, withdrew its forces from South Ossetia, and sued for peace. Despite the ceasefire and withdrawal—and in defiance of outraged international criticism of its invasion of Georgia—Russia is continuing its fierce offensive that has left hundreds of civilians dead and thousands injured.

Saakashvili said in a televised address:

• The army should struggle to the end;
• We will never surrender;
• Georgian forces are re-grouping;

Russia took over control of the major highway passing through Gori and “separated the country’s western part from the east,” President Saakashvili said at a session of National Security Council at 8:45pm on August 11.

It was earlier reported that the Russian forces were in control of Gori. It was earlier reported that the Russian forces were in control of Gori. The Russian Defense Ministry, however, has denied that its forces were in Gori, Interfax news agency report at 9:15pm.

Russian forces also advanced deep into the Georgian territory from breakaway Abkhazia as well, taking control of Senaki.

“Situation is extremely grave,” Saakashvili said. “This is occupation attempt, attempt to totally occupy Georgia, attempt to destroy Georgia.”

“Russia’s goal is to put an end to existence of the Georgian state,” he added.

“We are receiving only moral and humanitarian help from the international community, but we need more than that. We want them to stop these barbaric aggressors.”

“Our armed forces will carry out regrouping and we will protect and continue fighting for our future… We will never surrender, we will never say no to freedom and our future; we will never kneel down.”

“Russia’s goal is to trigger panic and chaos and civil confrontation in Georgia... Do not let the enemy’s major goal be achieved. We should not allow chaos, political confrontation.”

He also called on the population to gather outside the Parliament at 3pm on August 12 “to show the enemy that we are united and strong.”

For hostilities to stop, Russia put forth two explicit conditions: 1. cease fire and 2. withdraw from South Ossetia.

On August 10th, Georgia complied [...]

On August 11th, Russia stepped up its bombing of Georgia

Despite almost hourly announcements that the “peacekeeping” operation is drawing to an end, Russia continues to attack Georgian territory, beyond the two rebel regions. Now let’s assume that Russia’s increased bombing of Georgia is just a last minute hit on the enemy, and the South Ossetia conflict will soon be over - what next?

Not peace. Abkhazia, the other break-away region supported by Russia, has issued an ultimatum:

If [Georgia's] troops fail to leave the strategic Kodori Gorge, separatist forces will begin a full-scale onslaught to force them out.

Thus a likely scenario we may see develop is “peace” with South Ossetia, and a new full-scale front opened in Abkhazia. For another prediction of the next 48 hours, see the BlackFive.

And what about the role of the United States? Here is the latest framing of the conflict by Putin:

Vladimir Putin has pointed a finger of blame at the United States. Washington, said the Russian Premier, is trying to intervene in Russian operations in Georgia, transporting Georgian troops to the conflict zone by air. “In fact, some of our partners, far from assisting us, are attempting to impede us: I refer to Georgian soldiers based in Iraq, transferred on board US aircraft directly to the conflict zone”.

Nonsense.

Georgia has been a steadfast ally of the United States. Tbilisi has sent 2000 of its own troops to Iraq. When Georgia came under Russian assault, it requested that its troops be airlifted back home to defend the country’s territory. Following standard operating procedures, this request was honored and Georgian troops taken home…from one war to another.

This is the least that the United States can do under the extreme circumstances. Putin’s remark is also strange in how he laments that that the U.S. is not willing to assist Russia in fighting Georgia. Is Russia really requesting help in invading Georgia?

If you will pardon the pun, my thoughts this morning are grim for I expect to see Tbilisi besieged before long, for Putin is most serious about deposing the current government and president. Nor do I think his plans stop there.

 

In a special statement from the White House Monday night, Aug. 11, the US president said the Russians may soon be bombing targets in the Georgian capital. This was a dramatic escalation. It was inconsistent with Russian assurances that their purpose was to restore the status quo ante of Aug. 6, and meant they may now be seeking to depose Georgia’s elected government. This is unacceptable in the 21st century.

Bush demanded that Russia accept the peace agreement put forward by the US and Europe and let talks start again. Russia must respect Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

DEBKAfile notes that the agreement was rejected by Moscow after it was signed by the Georgian president in Tbilisi in the presence of the French and Finnish foreign ministers.

Washington sources comment that, despite President Bush’s tough tone compared with his previous statements on the Russian-Georgian conflict - “Russia has substantially damaged its standing in the world and jeopardized its relations with the US and Europe,” - his brief statement came too late affect the course of events in and around Georgia or to deter Moscow from its military pressure to topple President Saakashvili in Tbilisi.

President Bush just came on and basically said that Georgia has agreed to these elements of a peace agreement, elements that Russia had previously agreed to. How previously, and what previously means in this statement was not elaborated upon. They are:

1. Immediate Cease Fire on both sides.

2. Withdrawal of forces from zone of conflict.

3. Return to the military “Status Quo” as of August 6th.

4. Committment to refrain from using force.

He said that eunuchs from the European Union (ok, he didn’t use that word, but it fits) are in Moscow right now seeking Russia’s agreement to this peace plan. Although I don’t know why it would be necessary if Russia had “previously” agreed to it, /end sarcasm.Bush also stated that Russia must reverse its course and accept this agreement as a first step in resolving this conflict.He also said that Russia is jeopardizing relations with the United States and Europe with this aggression in Georgia, and basically said he doesn’t know WTF they’r up to. Here’s the vid.

DEBKAfile’s military sources report that Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili, under heavy Russian siege, claimed Monday night, Aug. 11, that the Russians had invaded the country and “cut it in half”. A full-scale retreat of Georgian troops was ordered from the border town of Gori to defend the capital Tbilisi 60 km away. In the event, Moscow denied seizing the town – or any plans for advancing on the Georgian capital - and turned the panic around to ridicule the pro-Western president.

Our sources believe Saakashvili had hoped that word of a Russian invasion of Georgia proper would finally stir the US and Europe into action to save his regime from being trampled by Russian tanks. Moscow had made it obvious that it would only hold its fire after his regime was gone and replaced by a Moscow-friendly administration.

The Russians sustained their three-day aerial bombardment of Gori, even after the town emptied of inhabitants and troops. This kept the rumor of an imminent Russian invasion alive in the world media for as long as necessary.

DEBKAfile’s Moscow sources report that Russian strategists believed that, by pulling the invasion scare carpet from under the president’s feet a few hours later, they could turn his campaign of panic and despair into a boomerang which would topple him without outside aid.

If not, the Russian president, prime minister and military chiefs would put their heads together again as they did on Monday and decide on their next move.

In the meantime, Russian troops entered Georgia Monday unopposed from another direction and captured the town of Senaki, 40 km from the northwestern breakaway province of Abkhazia.

This netted Moscow three advantages:

1. The Georgian outpost in the Kodori Gorge in northern Abkhazia, estimated at 3,000 strong, was cut off from its supply lines.

2. The Russians were in a position to force the outpost’s surrender, inflicting a lethal blow to Georgian military morale. Later Monday, having achieved this objective, the Russian defense ministry announced the withdrawal of its troops from Senaki after “eliminating the threat to south Abkhazia.”

3. The loss of the strategic Kodori Gorge should prove painful enough to deter the Georgian government from persisting in laying claim to Abkhazian territory for many years to come.

Say what you will about Vladimir Putin, the man certainly has chutzpah. As his forces drove further into Georgia yesterday across the border from the province of South Ossetia, the Russian Prime Minister lashed out at the US for helping Tbilisi in the escalating war.

In a speech to Russian officials Mr Putin condemned the US for facilitating the emergency transfer home of some of Georgia’s 2000 troops serving alongside Americans in Iraq.

"It is a shame that some of our partners are not helping us but, essentially, are hindering us," Mr Putin said.

For Georgians, the accusation that the US was assisting them in their struggle must have added cruel insult to mounting injury. Despite years of efforts by Mikheil Saakashvili to cement relations between his country and the distant Superpower, despite Georgia’s strenuous moves to push for Nato membership, and despite the courageous efforts of Georgian forces in supporting the US invasion of Iraq, the sum total of actual American assistance to the beleaguered former Soviet state in the last few days has amounted to a few verbal protests against the Russian action.

Last night President Bush stepped up the rhetoric in remarks from the Rose Garden at the White House. But it's not really clear what more, beyond words, the US can do.

It is not going to risk a full scale military or even diplomatic confrontation with an increasingly assertive Moscow over the fate of a province in the Caucasus most of whose 70,000 inhabitants would prefer to be under Russian sovereignty anyway. And while there is real dismay in Washington about the bold Russian actions of the last few days there is also a sense of irritation, even among some of Georgia’s friends, that Mr Saakashvili may have brought some of this mess on himself by deliberately provocative actions in South Ossetia, perhaps in part to test the strength of US resolve.

More importantly, the crisis underscores a deep ambivalence within the US foreign policy establishment in its relations with Moscow, one that is reflected in the election campaign to succeed President Bush. It is an ambivalence that Russia’s latest aggressive action might finally force to a resolution.

Though the US has developed a good working relationship with Mr Saakashvili, simple realpolitik has also demanded that it maintain a good relationship – despite proliferating provocations – with Moscow. Much of the effort to stay friends with Russia has stemmed directly from Mr Bush himself. The president famously declared at his first meeting with Mr Putin in June 2001, that he had “looked the man in the eye” and got a “sense of his soul.”

But even those in the administration who don’t share Mr Bush’s own sense of spiritual communion with the Russian leader know that good relations with Moscow are not an optional extra for Washington.

Rising energy prices have bolstered Russia’s clout in Europe and around the world. What’s more, with the much bigger global knots the US is strenuously trying to unravel, Russia has proved useful. Mr Bush rarely fails to praise Russia for its apparent efforts to defuse the dispute over Iranian nuclear capability by offering to provide nuclear reprocessing for Teheran. Condoleezza Rice, the fluent Russian-speaking secretary of state, has worked hard to keep Russia from directly undermining US diplomatic efforts elsewhere.

At the same time, and especially for some of the hardliners in the administration, there is a growing sense that, given the course Russia has taken under Mr Putin – both with regard to domestic critics and with its neighbours, continuing accommodation with Moscow will be impossible.

These people have been warning that the US has risked appeasing Russia’s escalating bullying of its neighbours – Ukraine, as well as Georgia – and that it was time for the US to get tougher.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili was forced to take cover while in Gori. His bodyguards pushed him to the floor before driving him away from the scene at high speed.

 

Georgia’s army was in complete disarray tonight after troops and tanks fled the city of Gori in panic and abandoned it to the Russians without firing a shot. 

As Russian armoured columns rolled deep into central and western Georgia, seizing several towns and a military base, President Saakashvili said his country had been cut in half.

For the first time since the crisis erupted last Thursday, Russia admitted that its troops had moved out of Abkhazia, the other breakaway region under Moscow’s protection, and seized the town of Senaki in Georgia proper. Russian officials again insisting that they had no intention of occupying territory beyond South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Georgia said the Russian army was also in charge of the towns of Zugdidi and Kurga in the west and its tanks appeared to moving from the north and the west towards Tbilisi, the capital.

The retreat from Gori, the birthplace of Joseph Stalin, was as humiliating as it was sudden and dramatic. The Times witnessed scores of tanks and armoured personnel carriers, laden with soldiers, speeding through the city away from what Georgian officials claimed was an imminent Russian invasion.

Residents watched in horror as their army abandoned its positions after a day of increasingly aggressive exchanges of fire along the border with South Ossetia, the breakaway region now fully under Russian control.

It was unclear tonight where the tanks were heading, but many of the troops regrouped on the outskirts of Tbilisi as if preparing to make a stand to defend the capital. Some artillery pieces had also been sited on the approach road from Gori.

The panic had been triggered at about 5pm, when troops suddenly started pouring out of Gori. Frantic officials from Georgia’s Ministry of Interior claimed that up to 7,000 Russian troops with tanks were heading for the city and claimed it was under imminent threat of bombardment.

And the devil is in the details. Putin has made quite clear that the only acceptable solution for him is annexing the Sudetenland, er, South Ossetia (and quite possibly Abkhazia, which might also require the Georgian port of Poti) and a Georgia with essentially no military power and back firmly under Moscow's control. I.E. forget democracy, forget elections, and most of all forget NATO and any thought of becoming Westernized. Yet, is that all that he is after?

Things to watch for over the next 48 hours to tell if that is all that is going to happen include:

• Landing of troops or other forces at or near Poti
• Escalation of bombing within Georgia, and efforts to secure complete control of the airspace over all of Georgia
• The combined arms forces advancing to or beyond the border of South Ossetia

For those that are still fixated on the idea that Georgia started this and Russia simply responded, answer me how what appears to be multiple combined-arms groups just happened to be able to respond so quickly, including the sortie of parts of the Black Sea fleet? It takes a lot of time, planning, and even movement and stockpiling of logistics to make that happen. The troubling question raised is how was it missed by -- apparently -- so many? It's not like it's easy to hide and that was part of what I will call the Fulda Tripwire: the movement and stockpiling takes time, for a combined arms force on the Soviet model chews through supplies in a way that makes a high school football team at an all-you-can-eat buffet seem like pikers. One example is in the shelling done and still ongoing -- think about the rate of supply and resupply and then think about being surprised...

There are a number of new developments that may signal a rough time for the invasion. First up, the Ukraine has signaled neutrality at best with this diplomatic move, which threatens Russian logistics. Lithuania and Latvia have called on Russia to stop, and seem to be coming down firmly on the side of Georgia. Then again, all three of these countries are considered by Moscow to be break-away republics and have to know that if Georgia falls, they likely will as well. While Western Europe dithers, and American Progressives state that nothing can, will, or should be done so Georgia must fall (in line), the East remembers and appears to be taking diplomatic if not other steps.

Russian sources said yesterday that Georgia had launched an invasion of South Ossetia, aiming to pacify the breakaway region. Georgia, meanwhile, said that its troops entered the South Ossetian "capital" in response to escalating attacks, which have been intensifying for a week -- and have been taking place for years, really -- as well as the Russian aerial bombardment of Georgian territory.

But there are other players involved -- paramilitaries, provocateurs, even (Russian) peacekeepers, some of whom have apparently been killed -- and a complicated chain of events with myriad possible interpretations. Previous tensions, both in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the other piece of Georgia that has declared sovereignty, have somehow been resolved without a war. Someone, clearly, wanted this one to go further.

Both sides have deeper motives for fighting. The Russians want to prevent Georgia from joining NATO, as Georgia, a Western-oriented democracy -- George Bush has called the country a " beacon of liberty" -- has long wanted to do. In this, they will almost certainly succeed: No Western power has any interest in a military ally that is involved in a major military conflict with Russia.

The Georgian leadership, by contrast, had come to believe that the constant pressure of Russian aggression, coupled with the West's failure to accept Georgia into NATO, compelled them to demonstrate "self-reliance." President Mikheil Saakashvili has indeed been buying weapons in preparation for this moment. Those who know him say he believed a military conflict was inevitable but could be won if conducted cleverly. As of last night, with Russian soldiers fighting in South Ossetia -- only a few dozen miles from Tbilisi, the Georgian capital -- it seemed as though he might have miscalculated, badly. Russia has not sent 150 tanks across that border in order to lose.

Still, the bottom line is this: Georgia should have stepped back from the brink -- and should still do so if it has a chance -- but Russia's deployment of such a large and carefully prepared force, not only in South Ossetia but in the rest of Georgia as well, is totally unacceptable. The other indisputable conclusion? Wherever the blame for this week's escalation is finally laid, the West has very little influence on the outcome. Saakashvili's appeals for help and moral support -- " This is not about Georgia," he told CNN, "this is about the basic values the U.S. has always preached" -- aren't going to amount to much unless Russia wants them to.