Russia Warns Georgia and Ukraine Against Joining NATO; Unexploded WWII Bomb Found In London

by Dan Forrest
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia - Russian President Dmitri Medvedev today reaffirmed Russia's commitment to preventing NATO's proposed eastward expansion into Georgia and Ukraine.  Both of these states are considering joining NATO, and Russia once again warned them today that to do so would not be in either of their best interests.

Medvedev reminded these two nations that joining NATO would be a violation of a friendship treaty that each individually signed with Russia.  This treaty guarantees that none of these nations will take any action that creates risks for the security of the others. 

Additionally, Medvedev announced today that Ukraine and Georgia will face "serious consequences" if they become part of NATO. 

This conflict must be viewed against the backdrop of the dispute between Russia and Georgia over the separatist Abkhazia region.  There have been spurts of violence between Russian and Georgian citizens in this region in the recent past, which have even lead to acts of impunity taken against innocent civilians caught living in the region.  In recent talks with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, Medvedev threatened that Georgia's entry into NATO could lead to more bloodshed [and perhaps more impunity] in the Abkhazia region. 

For more information, please see:

BBC - Medvedev warns against NATO entry - 6 June 2008

Yahoo (Reuters) - Russia warns its neighbors over NATO ambitions - 6 June 2008

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LONDON, England - An unexploded bomb dropped during World War II was found on Thursday near the near the future Olympic Park in London by contractors working in the area.  The bomb is the largest unexploded bomb found in the capital since 1975. 

A perimeter was immediately established and an army explosives team began working feverishly into the night to dismantle the device. 

It is estimated that unexploded bombs are found in London approximately two or three times a year.  They serve to remind us of "the Blitz," which lasted from September 1940 to May 1941.  During this time, German bombers bombarded the city every day. 

Even today, some sixty years later, we occasionally find untouched evidence of the most brutal war ever fought.

For more information, please see:

CNN - WWII bomb defused near Olympics site - 6 June 2008

Yahoo (AFP) - Police defusing unexploded WWII bomb - 6 June 2008

Comments

[Russia Travel]

Abkhazia should be part of Russia.90% of its residents are Russian citizens.