Reintegration Minister Yakobashvili says Georgian troops ‘merely regrouping’, not pulling out of South Ossetia. ‘Russians didn’t expect us to fight with such determination and force,’ he adds
“We’re changing strategies and tactics, but we will not give up,” Georgian Reintegration Minister Temur Yakobashvili told Ynet Sunday following reports that Russia expanded its bombing blitz against neighboring Georgia while Georgian troops pulled out of the capital of the contested province of South Ossetia under heavy Russian shelling.
Yakobashvili refuted the reports of a Georgian pullout, saying the troops were merely “regrouping” and “improving their positions”.
“It must be understood that South Ossetia is an area that does not have clear boundaries and contains Georgian enclaves,” he said, “as far as we’re concerned, we haven’t retreated but rather took up different positions.”
This article from ynet news states that Israel froze its weapons shipments to Georgia “to give Israel leverage with Moscow in its attempts to persuade Russia not to ship arms and equipment to Iran.”
I wonder if the whole thing was provocation intended to buy Russia’s acquiescence prior to a US-Israeli attack on Iran? The implication being that Russia could be given free reign to quash the violence in South Ossetia and Georgia would not receive aid as long as Iran does not receive similar aid from Russia when it is attacked.