Comments on: The thing about Georgia http://spanring.eu/blog/2008/08/16/the-thing-about-georgia/ a personal website slash blog Fri, 23 Dec 2011 08:27:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 By: Christian http://spanring.eu/blog/2008/08/16/the-thing-about-georgia/comment-page-1/#comment-29788 Christian Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:16:05 +0000 http://spanring.eu/?p=1035#comment-29788 Of course you're right about the conflict between the local ethnic groups and the actions Saakashwilli has taken. What the map does is giving a view on one aspect why the Caucasus region is of such geopolitical importance to the US and Russia (and EU and China). Of course you’re right about the conflict between the local ethnic groups and the actions Saakashwilli has taken. What the map does is giving a view on one aspect why the Caucasus region is of such geopolitical importance to the US and Russia (and EU and China).

]]> By: bellerophon http://spanring.eu/blog/2008/08/16/the-thing-about-georgia/comment-page-1/#comment-29787 bellerophon Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:05:48 +0000 http://spanring.eu/?p=1035#comment-29787 I don't think that you can reduce the whole conflict just on oil interests; think about the different ethnic groups in the separatist regions and the age of the conflict. Georgia has been on war with Abkhazia from the day on that Georgia came into existence. Russia regained imperialist confidence, and Saakashwilli is anything but the reasonable democrat as which he is depicted in western media. Sure, the pipelines are one side of the story and neither the US nor Russia are insenstive to the fact that the only east-west pipeline from central asia outside of Russian territory crosses Georgia but you can't pin the whole multifaceted conflict onto it. I don’t think that you can reduce the whole conflict just on oil interests; think about the different ethnic groups in the separatist regions and the age of the conflict. Georgia has been on war with Abkhazia from the day on that Georgia came into existence. Russia regained imperialist confidence, and Saakashwilli is anything but the reasonable democrat as which he is depicted in western media.

Sure, the pipelines are one side of the story and neither the US nor Russia are insenstive to the fact that the only east-west pipeline from central asia outside of Russian territory crosses Georgia but you can’t pin the whole multifaceted conflict onto it.

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