Georgia 'punished enough'

The NYTs,

MOSCOW — President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia agreed on Tuesday to the terms of a cease-fire that could end the clashes in Georgia, saying Russia had “punished” Georgia enough for its aggression against the separatist enclave of South Ossetia.

The six-point agreement — which the Georgians had endorsed in an earlier draft — would withdraw troops to the positions they occupied before fighting broke out Thursday. It would grant unfettered access to humanitarian aid, cease the use of force in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, a second disputed territories, and begin the delicate process of negotiation over the future of the two breakaway enclaves.

“I think these are good principles to settle the problem, to end this dramatic situation,” Mr. Medvedev said at a news conference with President Nicolas Sarkozy of France. “It is up to Georgia now.”

This is an enormous win for Russia no matter how you slice it.

Putin has embarrassed Bush who was making idiotic promises to Georgia about their security, and at the same time reminded every former Soviet state who's their Daddy. The former Warsaw Pact nations will be rethinking any plans to get in bed with the U.S. Putin has reminded the rest of the world that Russia still matter and is not to be trifled with. Putin has given current NATO countries serious pause as to whether they want to surround Russia, as Bush and McCain desire --- although to be fair, Bush and McCain are just about the only people in the world who thought that was a good idea. Never the less, NATO expansion is ongoing and current members may begin a much more cautious approach to expansion. And finally, it would appear Russia can now expect a favorable outcome in their negotiations with Georgia on the future of South Ossethia and Abkhazia.

Is there any downside in any of this for Russia?