Diplomatic activity on the Georgia-Russia conflict

The peace agreement was brokered by the French President, Sarkozy. Russia approved that agreement earlier in the week, while Georgia did not. Secretary Condoleezza Rice says the Georgian President didn’t sign it until receiving a clarification from Sarkozy about certain terms in the ceasefire. Earlier the German Chancellor met with Russian President Medvedev and speaking after that meeting the Russian President expressed approval for the original ceasefire agreement. Sarkozy said today that he expected Russia to sign onto the revised agreement, and some analysts say the revised agreement was necessary. The orginal agreement contained six conditions: one through three talked about ceasefire, access for humanitarian aid, and a commitment not to use force in the future from both sides. Points four and five require Russian and Georgian troops to return to their pre-conflict positions, and point six calls for international talks about the status of Georgia’s breakaway regions. This analyst says Georgia was most concerned about talking about the status of their breakaway regions which are within Georgia’s internationally recognized territory, and the other concern was a provision in the original agreement which allowed Russia to create security zones in Georgia. The analyst says this is a loophole in the agreement which allows Russia to operate in Georgia territory. Secretary Rice says the new agreement requires all Russian troops to withdraw from Georgia immediately. But the analyst says it’s not easy to make such requirements stick and in the haste of getting some agreement signed, there wasn’t enough attention to getting the agreement right. Russian forces remain deep in Georgian territory and President Medvedev said it’s unlikely that Georgia’s breakaway regions will remain part of Georgia post-conflict.