Though diplomats have been pressing for a ceasefire, Russia and Georgia continue to clash in the conflict over the separatist state South Ossetia. The fighting erupted late last week when Georgia launched an overnight assault on South Ossetia, which brought an immediate response from Russia who launched bombers against Georgia.

Watching war unfold before our eyes, we wish for a speedy resolve to the fighting and the safety of all those involved, and our positive energies and unitarian prayers go out to our friends and colleagues who are enduring the stress of the situation.

Tensions have been rising since 1992 when the South Ossetians, a distinct ethnic group within Georgia, declared independence after a civil war. Since President Saakashvili’s election in 2004, Georgia has been pushing for South Ossentian autonomy as a Georgian state, but in 2006 the South Ossetians declared in an unofficial referendum that they would press for complete independence. With increased military build-up to bring their troops up to NATO standards, Georgia has recently gained more confidence in their means to restoring South Ossetia and Abkhazia (a larger separatist state also drawn into the fighting) to Georgian control. The fighting within Georgia has taken on a potentially more devastating twist, however, because of Russian interests in the area.

Under Vladimir Putin’s presidency, Russia granted citizenship and passports to more than half of the 70,000 residents of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The Kremlin therefore laid the foundation for one of its public-relations arguments for invading Georgia: Its army was coming to the aid of Russian citizens under foreign attack, with the role of peacekeepers. However, Russia’s reasons for such violent action are not necessarily so acute. It was in April 2008, when NATO declared Georgia would eventually be allowed to join the alliance, that Russia stepped up ties with the separatists in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, fearing the eastward spread of NATO. In July, Russia admitted to flying jets through Georgian airspace to "cool hot heads in Tbilisi [the Georgian capital]". As occasional clashes escalated, six people were reported killed in Georgian shelling and the ceasefire collapsed.

Moscow has now insisted they will not halt operations until all Georgian troops are withdrawn from South Ossetia. Though a new ceasefire, drafted by an EU delegation, was supposedly declared on Sunday, both sides have made accusations that the fighting is continuing. Georgia said Russian forces have attacked areas outside the separatist fields of conflict in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, including bombing around the Georgian capital Tbilisi, whilst Russia claims Georgian attacks on the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali have killed three peacekeepers.

The international community has condemned the conflict, and EU diplomats have already headed to Moscow for peace talks. US President George W Bush has said Russia’s actions have been ‘unacceptable’, and told NBC TV he was very firm in delivering the message to Vladimir Putin, hoping for a peaceful end to the conflict. US Vice President Dick Cheney, however, assured Saakashvili over the phone that Russian aggression "must not go unanswered". Over the next few days, as peace talks continue, delegates from across the world will be pressing for a peaceful end before the fighting can escalate further.

By Phil Williams 

Further information:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7553144.stm

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-08-11-bush-georgia_N.htm  

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008104837_assess11.html

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