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Russia and Georgia agree to peace plan to stop war over Georgia’s breakaway republics On 13 August, it was reported that Russia and Georgia have both accepted a plan that should lead to the end of the conflict over the Georgian breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The weaponed conflict had started on 8 August, after the Georgian army has started a full-scale offensive against the Russian-backed regions to bring them back under Tbilisi’s control. The details of the plan are still being discussed. French president Sarkozy, whose country is currenty chairing the EU and travelled to Russia and Georgia in an attempt to negotiate a peace agreement, told at a press conference in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi that “there is a text. It has been accepted in Moscow, and it has been accepted here in Georgia.” It is clear the plan envisions both Russian and Georgian troops to pull out to the positions that they obtained before the conflict broke out on 8 August, and that negotiations will be held on the future status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, where mainly Russians live. Georgian president Michail Saakashvili confirmed that Georgia agrees with the plan, but also stressed that the territorial integrity of Georgia must be respected, saying that there “can be no doubt over the souvereignty of Georgia over South Ossetia and Abkhazia.” The agreement was brokered after Russian president Dmitry Medvedev had declared the war in Georgia had come to an end, saying “the goal of the operation has been achieved”and the “Georgian aggressor has been punished.” His conditions for signing the peace agreement were a return of Georgian troops to their initial positions, and a binding accord in which Georgia agrees to refrain from using violence in the future. Further conditions are not yet clear. Many observers link Russia’s role in the conflict to its interest in remaining control over its ‘near abroad.’ Georgia’s government is actively seeking better contacts with the west, and aspires to join NATO and the EU. Futhermore, pipelines running through Georgia, especially the BTC pipeline running from Azerbaijan to Turkey, bypass Russia, and are thus seen as an important source for energy difersification by the west, which seeks to become less dependent on Russian energy.

War in Georgia over breakaway republics On 8 August the Georgian military started an offensive to bring the breakaway republic of South Ossetia back under Tbilisi’s control. The offensive was launched after a period of increased tensions between Georgia and its two Moscow-backed breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. In July, Abkhazia accused Georgia of a number of explosions in the region, for which Tbilisi denied responsibility. Abkhazia then broke off all contacts with the Georgian government. On 4 July, fights between Georgian troops and South Ossetian citizens led to two deaths. Russian air forces then flew over South Ossetian territory, allegedly to “prevent bloodshed,” which was seen as a provocation by Tbilisi. On 15 July, both Russia and Georgia started military excersices along the borders of the breakaway republics, with tension in the region growing. On 1 August, a shooting incident in South Ossetia led to six deaths. South Ossetia blamed Georgia, while Geogia blamed the separatists for having started the shoutout. From then, the situation quickly deteriorated. On 3 August, a large scale evacuation of South Ossetian citizens to Russia started, with Russia warning for escalation of the conflict, and warning that it would not refrain from interfering when the situation would further escalate. On 7 August, Georgia offered a ceasefire to South Ossetia, but the negotiations failed. The next day, Georgia opened the offensive against South Ossetia, which was immediately followed by an influx of Russian troops into the region. The Russian army, which is much bigger than the Georgian military, quickly restored power in the breakaway republic. However, it did not refrain from bombing targets in Georgia proper, including in the Georgian towns of Gori, where several flats were hit, and areas near Georgia’s capital Tbilisi. Russian troops furthermore conquered parts of Abkhazia, Georgia’s other breakaway republic, which were under Georgian control. This led to panic in Georgia, which alleged Russia was trying to conquer the entire country. The international community strongly condemned Russia’s actions as an act of aggression. Moscow, however, maintained that the actions were justified in the framework of the Russian peacekeeping mission in South Ossetia, claiming that the bombed territories in Georgia were strategic targets that were used by Georgia to attack the territory of South Ossetia. According to Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, Russia was ready to sign a peace deal under the condition that Georgian would fully surrender from the territories of the breakaway republics, and promise to refrain from using violence in the future. On 12 August French president Sarkozy, whose country currently heads the EU, travelled to Moscow and Tbilisi in order to broker an agreement. The agreement has been signed by both sides, but the conditions of the agreement are not yet clear.

BP closes pipeline through Georgia On 12 August, British oil company BP closed an oil pipeline through Georgia out of precaution. The oil pipeline, which runs from Baku in Azerbaijan to Suspa on the Georgian Black Sea coast, produces 90.000 barrels of oil per day, but will be closed definitely. The closure comes after the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that the conflict in Georgia over Georgia’s breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which has recently escalated further, forms a substantial threat to the oil and gas pipelines through the country. Last week, BP already closed its bigger Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, which runs from Azerbaijan via Georgia to Turkey, and thereby circumvents Russian territory, after an explosion in northern Turkey damaged the pipeline. This pipeline produced 1 million barrels of oil per day. The pipelines through Georgia were seen by the EU as a way to reduce energy dependency on Russia.