Nika Aslanidse
www.presa.ge
On the 15th of August Russian helicopters set, in breach of international conventions, on fire the territories surrounding the cities of Borjomi and Daba Cemi by using inflammatory ammunition; huge areas of the woods in southern Georgia are burning. The Russian Federation has thereby ignored international treaties and caused irretrievable losses of parts of the local ecosystem.
By destroying the natural resources of the country, the ecological balance of Georgia and the whole region is at risk.
Borjomi's unique mineral water and air are being damaged seriously, endangering the health of the local population.
"Among other diseases, it is to be expected, that the cancer rate here is going to rise up significantly" says Prof. Vasil Tqeshelashvili in an interview with "Pressa.ge".
These acts of vandalism committed by the Russian army on the territory of Georgia have definitely to be judged adequately by the international community, in order to demand, in a next step, compensations for these deeds as for the other acts of vandalism. The Amount of compensation should be agreed on according to international values of the inflicted damage.
It should also be taken into consideration that when the Russian military burned the forests of Kaspi and mined them, it may have deliberately radioactively polluted Georgian soil by implanting radioactive material together with the mines; this is to be supposed after a relevant order within the structures of the Russian army became known to the public.
If such mines will explode, the radioactive material they contain will be spread; the consequences for man and nature in the region then will be disastrous.
Prof. Tqeshelashvili concludes: "In the light of what has been stated before, it is recommended that de-mining should be carried out by the Russian Federation itself while settlements and nature of the occupied territories should be under constant surveillance to check radioactive contamination."
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For now, the Bush administration decided to boycott a third meeting at NATO on Tuesday at which the alliance's governing board, the North Atlantic Council, was preparing for a meeting with a Russian delegation that has been called at Moscow's request, officials said.
On the table for future action is the possible cancellation or U.S. withdrawal from a major NATO naval exercise with Russia that is scheduled to begin Friday, the officials said. Sailors and vessels from Britain, France, Russia, and the U.S. were to take part in the annual Russia-NATO exercise aimed at improving co-operation in maritime security.
The exercise, which is being hosted by Russia this year, began a decade ago and typically involves around 1,000 personnel from the four countries, the officials said.
In the medium term, the United States and its partners in the Group of Seven, or G7, the club of the world's leading industrialized countries that also includes Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, are debating whether to effectively disband what is known as the G8, which incorporates Russia, by throwing Moscow out, the officials said.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because no decisions have yet been made and consultations with other countries involved are still ongoing.
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