Defining moment

Could it be that the issue of Russia's illegal occupation of parts of Georgian territory is going to rest at the basis of the U.S. administration's new Russia policy?  As NATO heads meet in Strasbourg, on Civil Georgia today we read that

The U.S. and Russian Presidents said a joint statement that was released after their meeting in London on April 1 that “significant differences” remained between the two countries on the August war.

“Although we disagree about the causes and sequence of the military actions of last August, we agreed that we must continue efforts toward a peaceful and lasting solution to the unstable situation today,” the statement reads. “Bearing in mind that significant differences remain between us, we nonetheless stress the importance of last year’s six-point accord of August 12, the September 8 agreement, and other relevant agreements, and pursuing effective cooperation in the Geneva discussions to bring stability to the region.”

President Saakashvili welcomed the statement and said: “I am very pleased that one of the major issues on which Obama and Medvedev seriously disagreed yesterday during the meeting, and which is on the top of the list of priorities, is Georgia and the issue of occupation of Georgia.” He also said that after Obama-Medvedev meeting “any further Russian military adventures against Georgia” was ruled out.

Meanwhile, the Georgian Daily reports that

Placing all responsibility for last year’s Russian-Georgian war on his Georgian counterpart, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev declared on the sidelines of the G20 summit in London on April 2 that he will never talk to Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgian and Russian news sources said.