Rice on a Mission in the Caucasus

The Russians interrupt the march to Kutaisi.

Ban ki-moon: “The violence continues.”

Bossi: “Ok to sending troops if it Europe asks.”

The picture on the ground in Georgia remains very confused. Today the American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will arrive in the Caucasus. After having met with Nicolas Sarkozy, she will push through a plan for a cease-fire.

In the meantime the Georgian government said that the Russian troops have interrupted their advance towards Kutaisi, the second city of the Caucasian republic. The troops from Moscow can currently be found in the city of Senaki, about 60 kilometers from Kutaisi.

Previously, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili had said that another hundred Russian armored cars and other vehicles were moving from the west of Georgia in the direction of Kutaisi, the country’s second city. The Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, confirmed that “in spite of the agreement between Russia and Georgia, the violence continues and it is the civilians who suffer the consequences.” The head of the Pentagon, Robert Gates, maintained that the Russian military action in Georgia “calls into question the entire foundation of their relations with the United States,” and that “the impact will be felt for years.”

In Italy, meanwhile, the debate over an eventual deployment of troops is rising. Italy could do it “if Europe asks,” maintains Umberto Bossi, leader of the Northern League, in direct opposition to the League’s Reforms Minister Roberto Calderoli, who yesterday said: “Ossetia is not Iraq. We cannot send our troops, the UN observers will suffice.” And the Defense Minister, Ignazio La Russa, affirms that “it is right that Italy participate in an eventual EU peace-keeping mission in Georgia. That is my position, naturally, and the government will decide.”