The plan, agreed to but not yet signed by the parties, has six main points, as announced by Russian President Medvedev at a joint press conference with Sarkozy: ''One, not to resort to the use of force. Two, to end all military action completely. Three, to provide access to humanitarian aid. Four, Georgian troops return to their pe rmanent locations. Five, Russian troops move to the line prior to the beginning of hostilities; Russian peacekeepers exercise additional security measures until international mechanisms are created. And six, the beginnings of international discussions about the future status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and ways of ensuring their lasting security.''Adding to these, he also said that Georgia's Aug. 8 attack on Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, should be taken into account when deciding the future status of both South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another breakaway Georgian republic. He made reference to the ''precedent'' of Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence in February and its subsequent recognition by the US and the majority of EU countries.
After their talks, Sarkozy and Medvedev said they had agreed on the need for international negotiations on the future status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Medvedev went further -- he made clear that what Russia would like to see is a referendum in both provinces, so the locals could decide for themselves whether to stay in Georgia or not. He clearly believes a substantial majority will not, as was shown by the referenda both provinces conducted themselves few years ago.
During the conference, Medvedev elaborated still further on the issue of Georgia's territorial integrity.
''It is for Ossets and Abkhazians to give the answer to the question of Georgia's territorial integrity, taking into account history and the events of the recent days. … What is sovereignty? It is supremacy of the central authority. Does Russia recognize Georgia's sovereignty? It surely recognizes independence of the Georgian authorities from any other authorities. But this does not mean that a sovereign state can act in any way it chooses. Even sovereign states must answer for their actions. … Territorial integrity is another matter. If sovereignty is based on the will of the people and on the constitution, territorial integrity as a rule shows the real state of things. And if all looks well on paper, life can be much more complicated question, which is settled not at rallies and not even parliaments and at leaders' meetings.''
However, after Sarkozy's talk with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, the sixth point of the plan dropped or was deleted. Sarkozy explained this by saying: ''At the request of the Georgian side, we introduced a number of amendments, which we twice discussed on the telephone with Russian President Medvedev. So we have removed the issue of South Ossetia's status from the document [the sixth point].''
The sixth point was dropped because Saakashvili was adamant and said that on the issue of Georgia's territorial integrity, and the return of refugees, the Georgian side would make no concessions. Then Sarkozy and Saakashvili pointed out that these issues would be the focus of the next stage of negotiations between Georgia and Russia, with French participation.
Now, after first agreeing to the removal of the sixth point, Russia has backtracked and declared that its position regarding the point has not changed. Furthermore, it facilitated the signing of the six-point plan by the leaders of South Ossetia and Abkhazia last Thursday, thereby committing itself to the sixth point as well as opening Georgia's territorial integrity to international questioning.
Of course, resorting to this course will start new and controversial debates in international law as regards the subject of territorial integrity. In fact, that is what Russia has wanted all along after Kosovo's independence. Now, it has seized the opportunity Saakashvili provided.
Debates and discussion on the sixth point will certainly change many things in international law and order, to say the least.
