ID :
16293
Mon, 08/18/2008 - 22:32
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http://m.oananews.org//node/16293
The shortlink copeid
Russia moving launchers into S Ossetia to tighten grip: report
short-range ballistic missiles into South Ossetia, the breakaway region of Georgia, in an apparent effort to tighten its control over it, following the recent militaryconfrontation with Georgia, a media report said Monday.
Citing American officials familiar with intelligence reports, the New York Times said that Moscow had deployed several SS-21 missile launchers and supply vehicles to South Ossetia on Friday. From the new launching positions north of Tskhinvali, the South Ossetian capital, the missiles can reachmuch of Georgia, including Tbilisi, the capital, it added.
Russia's efforts to strengthen its military position in the region, the paper said, have important political andmilitary implications.
American officials have demanded that Russian troops pull back from their positions inside Georgia and that the Russian military presence in the enclaves of South Ossetia and Abkhazia be limited to the Russian peacekeeping force that wasthere before the conflict erupted earlier this month.
Ultimately, they want the Russian peacekeepers replacedby a neutral, international peacekeeping force.
But instead of thinning out their forces in South Ossetia, the Times said, the Russians appear to have been consolidating their presence there by deploying SS-21 missile launchers and by installing surface-to-air missiles near theirmilitary headquarters in Tskhinvali, American officials said.
Such moves appear to buttress assertions last week by Russia's foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, that South Ossetia and Abkhazia are to be separated from Georgia, thepaper noted.
Western officials have also been monitoring Russian troop movements, which may be intended to strengthen Russian forces in and around Georgia, the Times said, adding that a battalion from Russia's 76th Guards Airborne Division has been deployedfrom Pskov to Beslan, a city in North Ossetia.
Several additional battalions from the 98th Guards Airborne Division at Kostroma also appeared to have been preparing over the weekend for possible deployment to theCaucasus region.
Beyond South Ossetia, the report said, the Russian military has taken other steps to raise its profile. In recent days, several Bear-H bombers have carried out training missions over the Black Sea, according to American officialsfamiliar with intelligence reports.
The Russian moves, the paper said, are seen at the Pentagon as a way for the country to show that it considers its sphere of influence to include Georgia and other parts of the so-called near abroad zones — Belarus, Ukraine, theCaucasus and the Caspian — near Russian territory.
Russian officials, the Times said, may also be calculating that their nation's military presence in the area may make some NATO members more skeptical towards acceptingGeorgia--a key US ally in the region--into the alliance.
Concerns over the military tensions in the region may already have influenced some neighbours, the Times said, quoting American officials as saying that Turkish authorities had denied a US request that an American Navy hospital ship, be allowed to travel through the Turkish straits en route toGeorgia.
A Bush administration official expressed hope that American officials would evRussian officials, the Times said, may also be calculating that their nation's military presence in the area may make some NATO members more sceptical towards accepting Georgia--a key US ally in the region--into thealliance.
Concerns over the military tensions in the region may already have influenced some neighbours, the Times said, quoting American officials as saying that Turkish authorities had denied a US request that an American Navy hospital ship, be allowed to travel through the Turkish straits en route toGeorgia.
A Bush administration official expressed hope that American officials would eventually persuade the Turkishgovernment to let the ship pass.
Citing American officials familiar with intelligence reports, the New York Times said that Moscow had deployed several SS-21 missile launchers and supply vehicles to South Ossetia on Friday. From the new launching positions north of Tskhinvali, the South Ossetian capital, the missiles can reachmuch of Georgia, including Tbilisi, the capital, it added.
Russia's efforts to strengthen its military position in the region, the paper said, have important political andmilitary implications.
American officials have demanded that Russian troops pull back from their positions inside Georgia and that the Russian military presence in the enclaves of South Ossetia and Abkhazia be limited to the Russian peacekeeping force that wasthere before the conflict erupted earlier this month.
Ultimately, they want the Russian peacekeepers replacedby a neutral, international peacekeeping force.
But instead of thinning out their forces in South Ossetia, the Times said, the Russians appear to have been consolidating their presence there by deploying SS-21 missile launchers and by installing surface-to-air missiles near theirmilitary headquarters in Tskhinvali, American officials said.
Such moves appear to buttress assertions last week by Russia's foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, that South Ossetia and Abkhazia are to be separated from Georgia, thepaper noted.
Western officials have also been monitoring Russian troop movements, which may be intended to strengthen Russian forces in and around Georgia, the Times said, adding that a battalion from Russia's 76th Guards Airborne Division has been deployedfrom Pskov to Beslan, a city in North Ossetia.
Several additional battalions from the 98th Guards Airborne Division at Kostroma also appeared to have been preparing over the weekend for possible deployment to theCaucasus region.
Beyond South Ossetia, the report said, the Russian military has taken other steps to raise its profile. In recent days, several Bear-H bombers have carried out training missions over the Black Sea, according to American officialsfamiliar with intelligence reports.
The Russian moves, the paper said, are seen at the Pentagon as a way for the country to show that it considers its sphere of influence to include Georgia and other parts of the so-called near abroad zones — Belarus, Ukraine, theCaucasus and the Caspian — near Russian territory.
Russian officials, the Times said, may also be calculating that their nation's military presence in the area may make some NATO members more skeptical towards acceptingGeorgia--a key US ally in the region--into the alliance.
Concerns over the military tensions in the region may already have influenced some neighbours, the Times said, quoting American officials as saying that Turkish authorities had denied a US request that an American Navy hospital ship, be allowed to travel through the Turkish straits en route toGeorgia.
A Bush administration official expressed hope that American officials would evRussian officials, the Times said, may also be calculating that their nation's military presence in the area may make some NATO members more sceptical towards accepting Georgia--a key US ally in the region--into thealliance.
Concerns over the military tensions in the region may already have influenced some neighbours, the Times said, quoting American officials as saying that Turkish authorities had denied a US request that an American Navy hospital ship, be allowed to travel through the Turkish straits en route toGeorgia.
A Bush administration official expressed hope that American officials would eventually persuade the Turkishgovernment to let the ship pass.
