News, Gorbachev: Georgia started conflict in S. Ossetia. (leader, world, President)

[JD59]

Georgian leaders may be blaming Russia for the conflict raging in South Ossetia, but former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev said Thursday "there is no doubt" that Georgia provoked the clash.

Gorbachev told CNN's Larry King that Russia moved additional forces into South Ossetia in response to "devastation" in the South Ossetia city of Tskhinvali.

Gorbachev: Georgia started conflict in S. Ossetia - CNN.com

[NewToCA]

I appreciate all that he and Boris Yeltsin did to establish perestroika and glasnost. Recognition of the need for change, and altering the centralized process, were very admirable initiatives.

The problem here is the baseline perception of what constitutes Georgia, and their rights in their own territory.