http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/caucasus_fractures/the-russia-georgia-tinderbox Comments for "The Caucasus tinderbox , Thomas de Waal " en http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/caucasus_fractures/the-russia-georgia-tinderbox <p> If you&#39;re deep in the trenches, stop digging. Both Russia and Georgia have warned of the danger of war over the Black Sea territory of Abkhazia, but they both keep digging. </p> <p> Georgia&#39;s President Mikheil Saakashvili said Moscow and Tbilisi have come &quot;very close&quot; to a military confrontation. Russia threatened Georgia, moving in an extra 500 troops to join the force it leads in <a href="http://www.unpo.org/content/view/7854/76/">Abkhazia</a>. These troops, formally peacekeepers under an international mandate, not only keep the peace - on Russian terms - but strengthen Moscow&#39;s grip over a region that is legally part of Georgia. In Moscow, Georgia-baiting has become a popular sport. Vladimir Putin dramatically stepped up his support for Abkhazia and hostility toward Georgia in the last two months of his presidency in what looked like an effort to lock his successor, <a href="/article/governments/dmitri_medvedev_s_challenge">Dmitri Medvedev</a>, into a hardline policy. </p>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/caucasus_fractures/the-russia-georgia-tinderbox" class="read-more" title="Read the rest of this posting.">Read the rest of this post...</a><p><a href="http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/caucasus_fractures/the-russia-georgia-tinderbox">read more</a></p> http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/caucasus_fractures/the-russia-georgia-tinderbox#comment caucasus: regional fractures Creative Commons normal Thomas de Waal Fri, 16 May 2008 17:42:29 +0100 44636 at http://www.opendemocracy.net