cheney in georgia has russia humming

Hundreds of articles about Dick Cheney appeared
in the Russian media today, as the U.S. Vice President arrived in
Azerbaijan, prior to visiting Georgia and Ukraine. That is no
surprise, in view of recent pointed remarks by such prominent observers as Sergei Markov, foreign policy expert of Russia's Public Chamber, that Cheney "gave the orders" for Georgia's attack on South Ossetia.  Foreign Ministry spokesman A. Nesterenko, however, chose his words carefully, in responding to a question about the Cheney
trip. "All appeals to Tbilisi about the need to restore their
undermined, so to speak, military capability, in no way
contributes to stabilization of the sitaution in the region, and
do not advance the realization of the Medvedev-Sarkozy six
principles," said Nesterenko. Still, "Our assumption is that the
leadership of the USA will look at the current situation
differently, and will correctly evaluate what actions are
necessary to take, in order to rectify this situation and return
it to a normal, peaceful course." Nikolai Patrushev, head of the Russian Security Council and former Federal Security Service (FSB) chief, said in a press
conference yesterday that Cheney would "it seems apparent, once
again act in such a way as to exert U.S. influence" over the
countries hosting him. He cited oil and gas supplies as a key
motive, according to the {Times of India} today.
Patrushev drew attention to the arming of Georgia from
abroad, before Tbilisi attacked South Ossetia, and he noted U.S.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit there, just before
Georgia withdrew from ongoing ceasefire talks about border
incidents. Currently, Patrushev said, the Collective Security
Treaty Organization (CTSO - Russia, with several Central Asian
and other ex-Soviet states) has backed the Russian proposal for
an arms embargo on Georgia.
Patrushev touted Russia's emergency as a geopolitical center
in recent years, projecting that in a new political environment,
the influence of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the
CSTO, as well as China and India and the organizations to which
they belong, will increase.