PUTIN SAYS EUROPEANS REALIZE GEORGIA STARTED SHELLING OF SOUTH OSSETIA LAST YEAR

Ellen Barry writes for The New York Times web page today that Vladimir Putin believes that European governments commonly blame Georgia for starting the war a year ago but are afraid to speak their convictions. I agree with Putin. It is clear to all who have followed the contretemps closely that Georgia and its president Mikheil Saakashvili deliberately started the shelling of South Ossetia and its capital Tskhinvali.

Writes Ellen Barry:

"Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said Wednesday that Europeans increasingly hold Georgia responsible for last year’s war in the Caucasus but are afraid to admit it publicly because of pressure from the United States."

What surprises me is that Putin thinks that Europeans are under pressure from Obama and the U.S. not to publicly blame Georgia. I know that V.P. Joe Biden said some sill things last month during his visit with Saaakashvili, how the U.S. stands behind him and Georgia, but I just attributed Biden's comments to his habit of making mindless remarks that have not been cleared. Putin must believe that Bidens remarks were cleared by Obama beforehand.

Reports Barry:

"The war’s anniversary has revived mutual recriminations between Russia and Georgia over who was responsible for its outbreak, with both countries saying they acted defensively when they sent troops into South Ossetia. Both are waiting for a European Union fact-finding mission’s report on the war’s origins. The release was delayed from July until late September after new material became available.

"Mr. Putin said world opinion has turned in Russia’s favor since last year, and that “practically all of international society” has acknowledged that Georgia was the aggressor in the conflict."

The BBC did a multi-segment report several months ago on the Georgia/Russia war and found that there was no evidence of Russia's taking the first shot, even though there has been plenty of evidence that it was Georgia that started shelling South Ossetia. "Shelling South Ossetia" must be understood as indiscriminate firing of shells into the civilian areas of the capital. Again here, we have a sterling example of what is commonly recognized as a war crime, and evidence all points to the culpability of Saakashvili and Georgia.

Ellen Barry writes:

"Mr. Putin said world opinion has turned in Russia’s favor since last year, and that “practically all of international society” has acknowledged that Georgia was the aggressor in the conflict.

"“In the West, what is called the West, we have plenty of supporters,” he said, in remarks to Abkhaz journalists. “They are all under a certain pressure from NATO’s leading country, the United States. And, to put it bluntly, many of them don’t publicly state their positions, because they would then diverge from the U.S. position.”

"Mr. Putin said that American leaders, in the aftermath of the cold war, “came under the impression that they could act without any rules — as they wanted, as it pleased them.” But he said that time had passed, and that European countries were becoming gradually more willing to express their support for Russia."