The US Vice President Joe Biden has traveled to Georgia to reaffirm support for the country, where US and Russian interests have collided in recent years.

On Wednesday, in an ironic start to his visit, Biden's motorcade traveled along George W. Bush Avenue, the main thoroughfare linking Tbilisi's airport with the city center, re-named several years ago in honor of the former US president.

There is only one way to follow it up - build a huge statue of Obama in the center of Tbilisi with stairs leading up to his ass. Saakashvili can climb up and kiss it as a daily routine.

I love russian humor.

Georgia's president was expected to ask Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday for advanced weaponry and U.S. observers to monitor a cease-fire.

President Mikhail Saakashvili also plans to urge Biden at a meeting in his presidential offices to push for NATO membership for Georgia, despite skepticism among some other members of the Western military alliance.

The White House has so far avoided making any public commitment on arms or observers, although it says it stands behind Georgia's application for NATO membership despite determined opposition from Russia.

But Biden's message on the trip so far has been that restoring cordial relations with the Kremlin will not come at the price of weakening support for democratic allies in the region.

In Wednesday's banquet speech, Biden called Saakasvhili's 2003 Rose Revolution, which drove a Soviet-era leader from power, "a clarion call for freedom-loving people around the globe."

He said the U.S. encouraged the growth of civil societies that "hold all governments accountable, yours and mine accountable."

At one point, Biden said in a joking manner: "You mentioned protesters. Welcome to democracy."

Russia vowed on Thursday to prevent its pro-Western neighbor Georgia from rearming and threatened nations who helped it, in a harsh warning timed to coincide with U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden's visit to Tbilisi.

Moscow issued its broadside as Biden sat down to closed-door talks with Russia's arch-foe President Mikheil Saakashvili in Tbilisi. Tensions between Russia and its former Soviet vassal are rising ahead of the first anniversary next month of their war.

Moscow is angry because it believes Georgian aggression started the war and says the West fails to understand that Saakashvili is a dangerous leader bent on fresh conflict.

One year since the military conflict in the Caucasus, it is feared that hostilities might resume. South Ossetian authorities claim the republic’s capital Tskhinval was attacked from a Georgian village.


Two shells were reportedly fired from around five kilometers away from the Georgian village of Nikozi during the night. Luckily, no one was injured, a source at the Ossetian Defense Ministry told Interfax agency.

This follows reports that one man has been killed and several people injured at the border between Georgia and South Ossetia


According to a source at the South Ossetian information ministry, quoted by RIA Novosti agency, the shells targeted residential buildings.

The source added that it is the first case of Tskhinval coming under fire since the Georgian attack on South Ossetia in August last year.

At the same time, Tbilisi claims its village was also fired upon from South Ossetian territory.

By Matt Robinson

TBILISI (Reuters) - South Ossetia accused Georgian forces of firing mortars at the rebel territory on Saturday and Russia warned Tbilisi it reserved the right to use force to defend civilians a year after their five-day war.

Georgia denied any shooting took place and, amid rising tension ahead of the Aug 7 anniversary of the war, said the Russian statement suggested "aggressive intent". Analysts warn of the risk of skirmishes boiling over into renewed hostilities.

South Ossetia said two mortar rounds were fired at a military observation post from the village of Ditsi on the Georgian side of the de facto border, which runs a few hundred metres from the southern edge of the rebel capital Tskhinvali.

South Ossetia made a similar accusation on Thursday, and a Reuters reporter heard two loud blasts from the rebel capital Tskhinvali but could not identify the cause.

"In the event of further acts of provocation threatening the population of the republic and the Russian military contingent based in the territory of South Ossetia, the Russian Defence Ministry reserves the right to use all available force and means to defend the citizens of the republic of South Ossetia and Russian servicemen," the ministry said in a statement, Russia's Interfax news agency reported.

1.08.2009

In case of further provocation, a threat to the population of the republic and the Russian troops stationed on the territory of South Ossetia, the Ministry of Defense of Russia reserves the right to use all available forces and means to protect the citizens of the Republic of South Ossetia and Russian troops.

I hope that if a war happens, Russia will go all the way and hang that son of a bitch Saakasvilli.

South Ossetia intends to demand the return of its former territory, the Truso Gorge, which is currently a part of Georgia, the former Georgian republic's president said on Friday.

"We have serious territorial issues which have to be raised. And we will raise them. This is about the Truso Gorge, currently a part of Georgia's Mtskheta-Mtianeti region - this is an indigenously Ossetian land that for some unclear reason was transferred during Soviet times to the administrative control of the Georgian Soviet Republic," Eduard Kokoity told RIA Novosti.

"Today we must raise the issue of returning these lands to Ossetia," he said.

TSKHINVALI. July 31 (Interfax) - Head of the Russian Border Service
Vladimir Pronichev on Friday informed South Ossetian President Eduard
Kokoity that Russian border guards have begun patrolling the border
between South Ossetia and Georgia.
"By way of implementing the decisions that you and President Dmitry
Medvedev made we have started guarding the state border and today we
have a fully deployed grouping and all the necessary reserves,"
Pronichev said to Kokoity.