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Georgian Tapes Imply Russia Started War

Troops may have entered South Ossetia before Georgia attack

By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 16, 2008 9:10 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Although the bloodshed has ended, Georgia and Russia are still fighting—over which nation was the aggressor in last month's conflict. The Georgian government, which insists that Russia invaded its territory, has released tapes of intercepted phone calls implying that a Russian regiment entered South Ossetia 24 hours before Georgia attacked. Top American officials have called the tapes "credible if not conclusive," says the New York Times.

Russia does not dispute the authenticity of the tapes, in which Ossetian border guards ask about the whereabouts of "the armor and people" in the middle of the night. But military leaders interviewed at the Kremlin insisted that the troops in question were part of the peacekeeping force that already existed in South Ossetia. Georgia disputes that claim, saying that they were not notified of any new peacekeepers, and that Georgian officers at the border were caught off-guard.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, right, and visiting NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer speak during a NATO-Georgia meeting in Tbilisi on Monday, Sept. 15, 2008.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, right, and visiting NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer speak during a NATO-Georgia meeting in Tbilisi on Monday, Sept. 15, 2008.   (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev looks on at a meeting with business leaders in the Kremlin, Monday, Sept. 15, 2008.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev looks on at a meeting with business leaders in the Kremlin, Monday, Sept. 15, 2008.   (AP Photo/Natalia Kolesnikova, Pool)
People receive bread in a refugee camp in Gori, Georgia, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008. Georgian forces launched an attack targeting South Ossetia's capital Aug. 7. Russia's army swiftly intervened, driving off Georgian troops and then pushing deep into Georgia in a five-day war that killed hundreds of people and displaced...
People receive bread in a refugee camp in Gori, Georgia, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008. Georgian forces launched an attack targeting South Ossetia's capital Aug. 7. Russia's army swiftly intervened, driving...   (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)
A Russian soldier looks on while standing at a checkpoint at the village of Karaleti, 7 km (4 miles) northwest of Gori, Georgia, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2008. Shots fired near a Russian checkpoint at Karaleti outside separatist South Ossetia killed a Georgian police officer Wednesday, and police accused Russian forces...
A Russian soldier looks on while standing at a checkpoint at the village of Karaleti, 7 km (4 miles) northwest of Gori, Georgia, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2008. Shots fired near a Russian checkpoint at Karaleti...   (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)
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US warns of 'long path' to NATO membership for Georgia
AFP

Spoils of Georgia war on show in Moscow
Independent (UK)

 
Russia • intelligence • Georgia • peacekeeping force • border dispute • border crossing • South Ossetia

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