Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-09-01-Speech-1-144"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20080901.20.1-144"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, the Ossetia and Abkhazia of today are yesterday’s Kosovo. None of the many governments now calling for peace in Georgia can deny their own responsibilities: by recognising Kosovo, the US and most of the European countries set a precedent which was bound to destabilise the Caucasus region. Owing to the expansion of NATO right up to Russia’s borders, the US is politically, even more than militarily, responsible for having encouraged Georgia to mount its surprise attack during the night of 7 to 8 August. Indeed, when attacking South Ossetia, Tbilisi thought it could count on protection from the United States, including military protection.
It was an unjustifiable attack, which struck at civilians and shattered already highly fragile agreements. The Russian response had been prepared well in advance and was only awaiting an opportunity to unleash its full force. No governments are innocent in this affair! The sole victims are the civilian populations, whatever their allegiance, forced to abandon their homes and subject to all kinds of violence.
We are witnessing a war where the nationalist aspirations of local leaders are overlaid by a clash of great powers over control of energy resources: the real reason for the conflict is the gas and oil pipelines running westwards from central Asia. Indeed, both the route through Turkey to the Mediterranean and the one from Georgia across Ukraine into Poland run through the Caucasus. It is no accident that the US asked Poland in particular to accommodate its missiles pointing to the east.
Europe must work towards a peaceful solution, calling both for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgian territory and for the people there to have the right of self-determination. The EU must first and foremost assist the refugees and refrain from any political action likely to worsen the situation even further. Georgia’s entry into NATO must be flatly refused, the US fleet should be called upon to withdraw from the Black Sea, and Poland should be asked to reject the installation of the US missiles. We must be certain that our aid is not used to purchase weapons and that the refugees are not used as instruments of war by the conflicting parties."@en1
|
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples