These two events happened a little to close to be a coincidence:
Georgia’s Separatist Province Braced for Independence VoteVoters in Georgia’s breakaway Republic of South Ossetia will head to the polls on November 12 to choose a new president and to participate in a referendum on the unrecognized republic’s independent status, RFE/RL reports. Aside from choosing a president on November 12, voters in Georgia’s breakaway republic will be asked to vote in a referendum on whether they want South Ossetia “to maintain its status as an independent state and be recognized [as such] by the international community.”Â?
And magically, Georgia’s hardline Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili was replaced
Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili has been moved to the post of economic development minister.President Mikheil Saakashvili announced on November 10 that the move was part of a government reshuffle..
Ahead of tomorrow’s vote, it seems Georgia is trying to send a reassuring signal to S. Ossetia that they indeed have no plans to use force to reunite it with the rest of the country. This will not only help maintain Tbilisi’s credibility but reinforce its past claims and future behavior vis-a-vis the Russians who recite ludicrous claims against Georgia as a daily habit. Saakashvili is trying to keep the high ground and so far doing a good job.
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COMMENTS / 3 COMMENTS
Dan tdaxp added these pithy words on 11 Nov 06 at 9:00 pmGeorgia seems to be doing a good job of maneuvering Russia into embarrassing and empty positions.
Rusisa seems to be following up with their empty referendum in Transdneister. Not likely to succeed with this one either, I guess.
Russia continues her decades-long history of losing land and influence in exchange for Western capital (witness progress on the WTO front). Good.
MikeS added these pithy words on 12 Nov 06 at 1:55 amDoes Russia view the loss of political power from a guy like Okruashvili as a sign of weakness by Georgia?
I don’t really know the Russian mentality well enough to answer this, anyone?
von Kaufman-Turkestansky added these pithy words on 12 Nov 06 at 7:56 amMost of the Russian press seems to be talking about a lowering of tensions, scaling-down, etc.
