Putin speaks out on Georgia

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says it's a pity that fighting has broken out in Georgia on the of the first day of the Olympics. According to Vladimir Putin, the start of the Olympic games is a day when guns are silent. But in South Ossetia, war planes can be seen and shells have been falling. Georgian troops are pounding separatist forces in an attempt to reclaim control of the territory. Georgia's pro-Western president, Mikheil Saakashvili, said his forces had "freed" the greater part of the territory's capital, Tskhinvali, and ordered a full-scale mobilisation of military reservists. Saakashvili, who wants to take his small Caucasus nation into NATO, has made it a priority to win back control of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another rebel region on the Black Sea. The issue has bedevilled Georgia's relations with Russia, which is angered by Tbilisi's moves towards the Western fold and its pursuit of NATO membership.

• 2008-08-10T07:08:05+00:00
• Duration: 01:19

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putin speaks news war world georgia russia military minister guns planes troops territory reservists