The Christian Science Monitor has a very informative article on the situation between Georgia and Russia. Apparently a region known as South Ossetia is within the Soviet era borders of Georgia but has been attempting to break away from the modern nation of Georgia. Since the 90s, South Ossetia has been in a sort of legal limbo, not really governed by Georgia, but not recognized by other nations. The area is apparently pro-Russia and enjoys Russian support. Georgia invaded in what appeared to be a planned invasion. However, what wasn’t expected was responding invasion by Russian armored units.
Moscow has long supported South Ossetia and another Georgian rebel statelet, Abkhazia, and maintains a contingent of peacekeeping troops in both. The two republics won de facto independence through bitter civil wars in the early 1990s, and have since lived in legal limbo, unrecognized by the world community, which supports Georgia’s claim of sovereignty over the whole territory of Soviet-era Georgia.
But two key developments have pushed these formerly “frozen conflicts” into the spotlight in recent months. The West’s backing for Kosovo’s independence from Serbia earlier this year, over Russian objections, created what Moscow calls a precedent for other breakaway territories. And the US-backed push to expand NATO into the former Soviet Union, taking in Ukraine and Georgia, has met ferocious resistance in Moscow. For Russia, the existence of breakaway territories in Georgia is a prime argument, frequently repeated by Mr. Medvedev to Western leaders, against Georgia’s admission to NATO.
Did I mention that a significant oil pipeline runs through the region? This has the potential to be a god-awful mess. Not as bad as an ex-Presidential candidate having an affair, judging from the relative amounts of news coverage, but a mess nonetheless.
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