Listen to Stefan J. Bos’s report
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The two day NATO summit in Budapest concluded with the first ever ministerial meeting of the NATO-Georgia Commission, which was set up to solidify ties between the Western military alliance, and the former Soviet nation. They gatheredFriday, October 10, as a deadline expired for Russia to withdraw troops from buffer zones near Georgia’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Ahead of the meeting, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters there were indications that Russian troops are withdrawing under a European Union brokered cease fire agreement. But he also criticized Russia’s military actions in Georgia. "Unfortunately their behavior has undermined security in the region," he said. "I am pleased that Russia appears to be fulfilling its obligations under the ceasefire to withdraw in compliance with tomorrow’s deadline."
Yet, Russia has made clear it will keep nearly eight thousand troops in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Moscow recognized the two areas as independent states, following a brief war between Russian and Georgian forces in August. Several churches, including buildings of Evangelical congregations, were damaged in the fighting, and Georgian Christians in the break away regions have reported persecution, BosNewsLife learned.
NATO ANGRY
"The Georgian Defense minister of course heard firm support for Georgia’s territorial integrity," he explained. "We discussed NATO’s stepped-up support for Georgia’s defense reform. To avoid any misunderstandings NATO will not supply any weapons to Georgia. But we can and do provide guidance and expert advise to Georgia as it sets it own priorities."
Georgian Defense Minister David Kezerashvili said his government wants to join NATO soon, despite Russian opposition. "We hope that our continued good performance and alliance performance based policy will enable us to make swiftly the next step on our direct way to NATO membership," he stressed.
NATO defense ministers will review the mission when they meet again in February in Poland.
The military alliance also looked at other security threats in the world, including Somalia, where it agreed to send a seven-ship force to protect ships of the United Nations Food Program against piracy. Pirates have attacked dozens of vessels and are still holding ships, including a Ukrainian cargo ship seized laden with heavy weapons. (This BosNewsLife News story also airs on the Voice of America (VOA), BosNewsLife’s affiliate. www.voanews.com).
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