AMBASSADOR JEFFREY: Good afternoon. As Dana said, I'm Jim Jeffrey. What I'd like to do is to talk you through the situation in Georgia, what we've done, and what we're going to be doing about it; and also a little bit on the Iran issue, the Iran nuclear issue as it came up in today's discussions with President Hu. First of all, the situation on the ground. A few minutes ago we spoke with Ambassador Tefft, our ambassador in Tblisi.
According to his reporting and some news reports, the Georgian forces have announced the beginning of a pullback of forces from South Ossetia,that they would leave all of South Ossetia. We don't have confirmation on the ground, but we do believe that some movement has occurred, but it is probably not yet complete.
They have reached out to the Russians to ask for a cease-fire, which is very important — something that we also support — but we haven't seen a response. There have been reports that in the course of the day there have been further Russian attacks, both air and — particularly troubling — possible ground attacks on the border between — in the Abkhazia area, and we're looking into that urgently, as that would be a further escalation of what is already a very, very serious situation. You know our position because we've put it out several times. We are calling for a cease-fire. We're calling for both sides to return to the status quo of August 6th, before the latest round of fighting broke out.
We're urging both the South Ossetians and the Georgians to sit down and meet, and we're urging the Russians to cease their attacks. As Ambassador Negroponte put it on the 8th, we deplore the dangerous and disproportionate actions by Russian forces, and we would be particularly troubled if these attacks are continuing now as the Georgians are pulling back, and very, very concerned if, in fact, there is ground action inside of Georgia proper, that is outside of these areas of Abkhazia and Ossetia. In terms of how we've responded to this, the President was informed immediately on Friday, when we received news of the first two SS-21 Russian missile launchers into Georgian territory. He immediately — this was at the Great Hall — he immediately met with President Putin. They had a discussion. The President then engaged with his national security staff continuously over the last two days. He has spoken with — again with Putin that evening.
He then talked with President Medvedev yesterday evening, as well as President Saakashvili. Secretary Rice has spoken repeatedly with President Saakashvili, as well as with her Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Lavrov, and many European leaders. Admiral Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, is in contact with his Russian counterpart. Ambassador Negroponte, the number two in the State Department, called in the Russian chargé on Friday to lay out our position. We have been in further contact with the Russians today, and we will continue to be in contact. In addition, it is quite possible that the President will speak with President Sarkozy of France, who, of course, has the presidency of the European Union at the moment. We're working very, very closely with the Europeans. President Sarkozy has issued a statement calling for the same actions that we are looking for, which is, again, a cease-fire and a withdrawal of forces to the beginning positions, and negotiated solution. The European Union is mobilizing their diplomatic activities. We have sent an envoy to the region and we will continue to work in the U.N. with the OSCE, which has a mission in South Ossetia, and with the international community, to bring this extremely dangerous situation to an end.
Q There are reports that the Russian navy has moved to blockade Georgia. Do you have any information about that? Any confirmation from your side?
AMBASSADOR JEFFREY: We have seen these reports. I can't confirm them through our normal means of confirming these reports, but we have seen them, yes, and it would be consistent with other steps that they have taken.
Q Does that alarm the U.S.? I mean, what is your view of it, if true?
AMBASSADOR JEFFREY: We're alarmed by this entire situation, and every escalatory step is a further problem.
Q Will the Georgian withdrawal from South Ossetia kind of, de facto, calm the situation, if they're withdrawing as the Russians have demanded?
AMBASSADOR JEFFREY: If the goal of this entire situation is to return to the situation a week ago, then certainly it would, which is why we've been pushing both sides to pull back, to have a cease-fire, and to start talking to each other. We're going to have to evaluate how people react to the Georgian pullback, particularly once it's complete, and we'll see when that occurs.
Q Can you give us a little more of a readout on the President's discussions with Mr. Putin, and what do you think the Russians' end game is?
AMBASSADOR JEFFREY: I can't go into detail. The President laid out our position. He asked for the Russian views. Putin, in particular, was concerned about the deaths of Russian peacekeepers. We are, as well. Those people, as well as civilians and military personnel on all sides, have suffered significant losses and we regret them all. And we hope that there is no further bloodshed. There has been too much bloodshed already.
And the second part of your question —
Q What do you think the Russians are hoping —
AMBASSADOR JEFFREY: That's why I was trying to avoid that one; I forgot it I think deliberately. We believe that, as the Russians have said, at a minimum, they want to stop the fighting in South Ossetia. Beyond that, we have to look at the situation and evaluate what is happening on the ground and draw our conclusions. And a key decision will be what the Russians do in reaction to a verified withdrawal of the Georgian forces from South Ossetia. That will be a test.
Q What they've done is far beyond South Ossetia.
AMBASSADOR JEFFREY: That is right, which is one reason why we have condemned this as disproportionate.
They have struck targets in the vicinity of the capitol, Tblisi, and there have been a considerable number of civilian casualties. But once again, we don't want to draw any conclusions at the moment. We will be in a better position based upon whatever the Russian reaction is to a confirmed Georgian withdrawal from South Ossetia.
Q President Putin and other Russian officials have been reported to have told diplomats that they're going to exact punishment on the Georgians. Is that the nature of the conversations that you had with him?
AMBASSADOR JEFFREY: No, they have not used that language.
Q Can you give us some suggestion of how they have responded to this? Are they rebuffing your concerns? Are they taking them into account? Did they give an alternative explanation to what it is they're doing?
AMBASSADOR JEFFREY: They have expressed great concern at the loss of Russian lives, both civilians — as you know, many of the inhabitants of South Ossetia have Russian passports and there have been civilian casualties there — as well as the loss of lives of their peacekeepers. A fairly large number have been killed or wounded, according to various accounts. And they have stressed that. They have stressed their concern about the actions of the Georgian authorities. And I would not say that they have told us that they are carrying out punitive actions.
Q Did they give you any suggestion that they intend to stop? €
AMBASSADOR JEFFREY: Yes, they have said that if the Georgians cease their activities, pull back and take various steps of a political nature — that I won't get into, and to some degree, I'm not sure on all the details — that this situation could be resolved peacefully. So that is they have held that door open. What we need to see is how they respond to the Georgian steps on the ground, which have been followed up by Georgian contacts with the Russian government, according to what we've heard from the Georgians.
Q Is there any consideration being given to sending in U.S. military help or other aid to the ally, Georgia?
AMBASSADOR JEFFREY: Right now our focus is on working with both sides, with the Europeans and with a whole variety of international institutions and organizations to get the fighting to stop, get the two sides disengaged, and get people back to the status quo ante, which we define as the 6th of August. That's where we're putting our emphasis.
Q So no consideration yet, premature, or —
AMBASSADOR JEFFREY: I would say that's where we're putting our emphasis.
Q And as the conflict stands right now, are you concerned about the consequences that this has for U.S.-Russian relations?
AMBASSADOR JEFFREY: We have made it clear to the Russians that if the disproportionate and dangerous escalation on the Russian side continues, that this will have a significant long-term impact on U.S.-Russian relations.
Q Ambassador, when the Georgia forces entered in South Ossetia were you surprised, or were you informed in advance by their intention?
AMBASSADOR JEFFREY: We were not informed in advance. What we had seen was a variety of attacks of a relatively low level, but still at some concern, on either side of the border involving both attacks on Georgian — for example, six Georgian policemen were killed earlier this week by a IED or other bomb; and some shelling back and forth; a few other killings — so a level of violence that was higher than we had seen recently, but, as you know, we've seen a fair amount of violence both in Abkhazia and in Ossetia in the recent past. So the developments since Friday have taken a much larger dynamic.
Q Do you think that their move was justified?
AMBASSADOR JEFFREY: Right now our focus is on trying to end the fighting, to get people back in place, and to get a diplomatic process underway. It's not helpful at this point to try to judge what may have, or may not have happened three or four days ago. MS. PERINO: Last one for Jim.
Q Any further efforts to be expected at the U.N. Security Council, or is that a dead end, given the Russian veto?
AMBASSADOR JEFFREY: It's not a dead end. We've had two meetings behind closed doors on this. We have agreed with the other members of the Security Council, which, of course, includes Russia, on some elements of a way forward, but we do not have final agreement. But as you know from following this in a dozen other contexts, including the Iranian one, day one, we're still debating and disagreeing; day two or day three, we often can come together on some final — a compromise position. And that's what we're working towards. Thank you.
Q Dana, while we have you on camera, can we ask you to summarize the state of play in terms of what America is asking both of Georgia and Russia? It sounds, frankly, like you're much more concerned with what the Russians are doing at this point.
MS. PERINO: Our main concern is for the loss of life and for the innocent civilians who are caught in the middle of this conflict. What we are asking is that all parties commit to a cease-fire — the Russians and the Georgians and the South Ossetians, as well — and that the Georgians and the South Ossetians could return to the dialogue, the direct dialogue that they were having beforehand. What we are asking is for all parties, including the Russians, to return to what we call the status quo ante of August 6th. This is before the most recent hostilities escalated. We are very concerned about the disproportionate response that we believe Russia has engaged in. That is why President Bush spoke last night with President Medvedev. He also spoke with President Saakashvili. President Bush will also speak today to President Sarkozy, who is currently the EU President. We are going to be working on multiple levels in a multilateral way in order to try to address this as quickly as possible for the well-being of everyone involved — the troops that are involved and the innocent civilians who are caught in the middle. David.
Q Dana, the President spoke in very serious tones about this in calling for the cease-fire and for the Russians to pull back to the status quo. It would appear by what happened in the 24 hours since the President said that that he's been ignored by the Russians.
MS. PERINO: Well, let me point out something in addition that has happened in the last 24 hours. Apparently there are reports that the Georgians have started to pull back from South Ossetia. This, if true, could help us lead to a peaceful solution. That is what President Bush had asked of the Georgians and the Russians as they work towards a cease-fire. So let us continue to monitor that, see if that gets us to the next step, which is what we've been asking for.
Q The Russians have done just the opposite. If all the reports are true — the navy now blockading, additional bombers dropping additional weapons — it seems as if the Russians are doing just the opposite of what the President asked them to do.
MS. PERINO: Remember, what Ambassador Jeffrey has just reported is that we have new reports that apparently the Georgians have started to pullback from South Ossetia. That was one of the conditions that needed to occur so that we could have a cease-fire. All that other escalation is absolutely nothing that we could support. In fact, we have said it is deplorable.And I think what we need to do right now is continue to work to try to solve this peacefully and this, if it is true, they've been able to pull out, if the Georgians have been able to start pulling out of South Ossetia, that might get us to where we need to be to start the cease-fire.
Q Maybe I should ask you this way: Does the President find it surprising that when he asked the Russians if they could pull back, then they do just the opposite, that's a bit of a bother?
MS. PERINO: Let me remind you that part of the — everybody needed to take action. That included the Georgians in order to end the current hostilities. We are 100 percent focused on solving this peacefully. President Bush does think that the Russian response has been disproportionate. We are very concerned about the innocent people, especially inside of Georgia. We respect Georgia's territorial integrity and we expect Russia to do the same.
Q There's a report today in the Australian press, the Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who was sitting two rows behind President Bush and Prime Minister Putin at the Opening Ceremony, oversaw and overheard a very heated discussion, or very animated discussion between Mr. Bush and Mr. Putin. Can you tell us if that did, in fact, occur, if you know at all? And if so, according to Mr. Rudd, it was about Georgia.
MS. PERINO: Well, I think me responding to a third party observation — I'm not going to respond to Prime Minister Rudd. What I will tell you is, yes, President Bush had a chance to talk to Prime Minister Putin, both at the lunch and then again at the Opening Ceremonies. I'm not at liberty to talk about the details of that discussion, but what I will say is that President Bush has worked hard to establish with leaders from Russia, or from China, and other places where we have complex relationships, a relationship based on trust. And because of that, they are able to speak very candidly with one another and very honestly. So I would not be surprised by the description, but I didn't have firsthand knowledge of it and I won't comment on Prime Minister Rudd's observations.
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