Georgia Calls For Ceasefire

A brief video from the BBC:

TBILISI (AFP) — Georgia said Sunday it had ordered its forces, pushed back by superior Russian firepower, to cease fighting in the breakaway province of South Ossetia, and offered Moscow talks to end the conflict.

Shortly after the statement was issued, however, bombs fell on the outskirts of the Georgian capital Tbilisi targeting a military air force facility located close to the international airport, an AFP reporter witnessed.

Russian planes also dropped a bomb 200 metres (650 feet) from the runway at Tbilisi International Airport, interior ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili told AFP.

Amid evidence the conflict was spreading to another restive Russian-backed region in the west of country, the Georgian foreign ministry said President Mikheil Saakashvili had called an end to his country's offensive.

"Georgian armed forces ceased fire in the Tskhinvali region," the statement said, adding that this message had been transferred to the Russians.

"Georgia expresses its readiness to immediately start negotiations with the Russian Federation on a ceasefire and termination of hostilities," the statement said.

Georgian troops were earlier withdrawn from most of South Ossetia in the face of a Russia force comprising thousands of troops, tanks and fighter jets, which now control the near-destroyed regional capital, Tskhinvali.

Russia broadened its bombing of Georgian territory outside South Ossetia, with the military airport in Tbilisi the latest in a string of targets across the country, Georgian officials say.

They also said Russia was bombing areas in and around another pro-Moscow region in the west of the country, Abkhazia, where the separatist government has declared a state of war in areas of the province populated by Georgians.

Source: AFP Google News "Georgia offers ceasefire as Russian blitz intensifies"

So, it appears that Russia has gotten away with their little "Weekend War", and have served to weaken Georgia again as they did in the 1993-1993 civil war. Mr. Putin is well on his way to re-establish the Soviet Empire under his new criminal enterprise.

I have been monitoring the blogs in the region, and some have noted that there was a recent deal where Russia gave China an island, and speculate it was payoff in advance, for example:

Кстати да - все планировалось заранее.
Даже с Китаем за неудобство в день открытия Олимпиады островком заранее расплатились.

Translates to

By the way yes - everything was planned previously. Even with China for the inconvenience during the opening day Olympiads by islet previously paid off.

So...it appears that after this brief flare-up, this will go back to smoldering again, as Russia has gotten away with murdering several thousand Georgians...perhaps more than al-Qaeda murderd in New York City.




Previously:

Monitoring the War in Georgia

Russia Invades Georgia

Russia Preparing To Invade Georgia? (Updated)