Question: What turn do you think Russian relations with the West will take following the intensification of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict? Can we speak of a new round of the Cold War, which will be conducted on the information field in the first place?

Grigory Karasin: I don’t think the term “cold war” is applicable to either this or any other situation in contemporary international relations. This is vocabulary from dictionaries of the previous epoch. It should be forgotten as soon as possible.

Russian relations with western partners are developing, and the question of settlement of territorial conflicts is not the only one on our international agenda, with the countries of Europe and with the United States as well. Truth, as everybody well knows, is born in controversy. And there is nothing terrible in that originally our western partners had a different position and a different vision of the situation surrounding Georgia.

We, with maximum openness, designated and are designating the range of issues on which a number of agreed decisions need to be taken as soon as possible. We are looking forward to an honest discussion of the problem, which it is necessary to avoid turning things upside down to remove. As a result of such frank joint discussions an option must be found, around which we will be able to combine our efforts with western partners for a final settlement to the situation in the region. This is a complicated process, but to despair is too early.

I must note that Russia has been consistently, openly and most frankly voicing its position not only to leaderships of western countries, but to the western media as well.

Question: How do you envision a future negotiation process on the settlement of the South Ossetia conflict?

Grigory Karasin: Russia was always ready for negotiations to settle the conflicts on the territory of Georgia, moreover – it insisted on holding them. We are still convinced that there is no alternative to the negotiation path of settlement. But after the tragedy in South Ossetia, for which the present Georgian leadership is at fault, it would be naive to expect the South Ossetians, Abkhaz and then the Russian side, too, to again sit down at the negotiating table with a delegation from Tbilisi as if nothing had happened. There is no trust left in Mikhail Saakashvili, the man who took the decision on the bloody action against Tskhinvali, anymore.

The chief thing now is to get out of the state of crisis, in which the region has become engulfed because of the adventurism of the Georgian authorities, to liquidate its consequences and to guarantee the nonrecurrence of a catastrophe of the kind that has occurred in South Ossetia. A basis for solving these tasks has been created thanks to the decision of President Dmitry Medvedev to end the operation to force Georgia to peace after the achievement of its objectives. As you know, the heads of state of Russia and France elaborated the six principles for resolving the conflict, by which the parties will guide themselves in the future.

I will stress one thing: despite the oral consent of Mikhail Saakashvili to the provisions of the plan, we have no trust that he will honor his commitments. That is why until the creation of international mechanisms the Russian peacekeeping force has to be on the alert.

Question: In addition, we hear new loud statements coming from Tbilisi that Georgia is once more withdrawing from the CIS.

Grigory Karasin: As regards the statements about withdrawal from the CIS, we have heard such words repeatedly. However they have still not been supported by action. In politics emotions are rated much lower than the ability to think.

I will only note that should Georgia withdraw from the CIS the leadership of the country will find it more difficult to deal with the issues of resolving the conflicts.

We more than once told Mikhail Saakashvili that the question of the territorial integrity of Georgia was in the hands of the Georgian leadership – it then seemed to us that he understood what this was all about, but everything indicates that he never did. By his barbarous action he has undermined the viability of Georgia as a state.

In dealing with any conflict it is necessary to take into account such basic principles as respect for the interests of the peoples living within this or that territory. After these interests have been swept away by Grad launchers, to prove to the Ossetian and Abkhaz peoples that with Georgia they will live more comfortably is practically unrealistic.

Alas, this is now the misfortune of not just Mikhail Saakashvili alone, but of the entire Georgian people as well.

Question: Russia has been making every effort to convey its point of view on the latest events in the region to the world community. However on the UN platform we haven’t been able to get an appropriate resolution approved so far. In this connection how do you assess the prospects of such a platform as the UN for discussing hot, urgent world order issues?

Grigory Karasin: I hope we will very soon manage to convince our UN Security Council colleagues that our proposals are fully substantiated and dictated by the logic of the developments.

Our resolution version is very simple – a definitive withdrawal of Georgian troops from the territory of South Ossetia and from those areas of Georgia from where Georgian troops were firing at South Ossetia. Georgian troops must be at a distance from the borders with South Ossetia from where they could not threaten its security.

That resolution of the UN Security Council, the main body responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security, should also contain an utterly clear designation of the August events that took place in the conflict zone.

I must state that our diplomatic efforts and contacts of the last few days with representatives of western countries and our well-argued position on current events have led to the fact that we were heard. The talks held in Moscow between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and the Russian President’s upcoming meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel are testimony to this.

There has appeared the set of principles on which to base movement forward.

I hope that with our OSCE colleagues we will together work to ensure that peace sets in on the soil of South Ossetia and that in the future no one ever tries to solve any conflict in such a criminal way.

As to the role of the UN as a whole, Russia has always considered and continues to consider it one of the key platforms for discussing the most acute world order issues. But then, the latest events have confirmed the pressing necessity to reform both the organization itself and its Security Council.