Georgia

Ferrero-Waldner: Georgia peace talks to start "on expert level"

Brussels  - International talks on the summer's Georgian-Russian war are set to start in Geneva on October 15 on "expert level," the European Commission's top diplomat said Wednesday in a further twist to the ongoing debate over the talks.

After a meeting between European Union foreign ministers and their Russian counterpart in New York, EU Foreign-Affairs Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said the two sides agreed that the talks "will be a meeting, most probably on October 15, on expert level first."

Georgia calls for UN to mediate conflict with Russia

New York -Georgian President Mikheil SaakashviliGeorgian President Mikheil Saakashvili issued a dramatic call late Tuesday for the United Nations to mediate in the Caucasus republic's conflict with Russia and breakaway regions South Ossetia and Abkhazia, in a speech to the UN General Assembly.

Saakashvili called on the UN to denounce Russia's "brutal invasion" of his country last month and to help implement a stalled ceasefire plan that calls for a complete pullback of Russian troops from Georgian territory.

Georgia police casualties reported as head of EU observers arrives

Russia GeorgiaTbilisi - Two policemen were wounded by a landmine near the Georgian rebel region of Abkhazia on Monday, the third such incident along the Georgia border with the breakaway region this month, the country's Interior Ministry reported.

The incident, which occurred at a post near the Georgian village of Khurcha, comes as the head of the European Union observer mission to Georgia, Hansjoerg Haber, arrived in Tbilisi over the weekend.

France: New EU partnership talks with Russia possible in October

European UnionMoscow/Sochi - The European Union will resume partnership talks with Russia as early as October if Moscow withdraws its troops from the Georgian mainland completely, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Saturday after meeting his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea resort Sochi.

Putin had promised that the remaining Russian troops would be withdrawn from Georgia, Fillon was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency after the talks, which also saw France and Russia agree on future cooperation in the area of space aviation.

Russian war museum shows off Georgian trophies

Russia Moscow MapMoscow - War booty nabbed in the rout of Georgian forces has gone on display at Moscow's military museum, courtesy of the Russian army. And the message is clear.

"We fought the US, that's what this exhibit says. They are responsible for this conflict," Giorgy Gavrikov, 72, a veteran of the Soviet war in Afghanistan, said as he left the small exhibition room that looks to become a permanent part of the Central Army Museum.

Brown pledges aid for Georgia amid sharp exchanges over NATO

Gordon Brown London- Britain Friday pledged its full support for the "territorial integrity" of Georgia and promised financial aid to the country amid an ongoing war of words with Russia over Georgia's future membership of NATO.

Brown made his comments after talks with Georgian Prime Minister Vladimir Gurgenidze in London, where defence ministers of the NATO alliance were also meeting.

Brown's comments followed a reaffirmation Thursday by NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer that Georgia should become a full member, despite Russian opposition.

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