With Sarkozy in Moscow today to press Russia over Georgia, let's hope there's some good translators in town. Apparently the text of the ceasefire which Sarkozy brokered on August 12 was misinterpreted by the Russian side because of bad translation.
The passage in question relates to the not inconsequential matter of whether Russia keeps its tanks and heavy armor in Georgia. (See our blog from Poti for more of this.)
"The Economist," however, in its recent briefing on Georgia, implied it was about more than bad translation, saying, "Veterans of the many ceasefire negotiations during the wars in former Yugoslavia in the 1990s were aghast when they saw the text, which exists in multiple inconsistent versions and lacks the vital specifics of dates and placenames, leaving far too much wiggle room."
-- Luke Allnutt
The passage in question relates to the not inconsequential matter of whether Russia keeps its tanks and heavy armor in Georgia. (See our blog from Poti for more of this.)
"The Economist," however, in its recent briefing on Georgia, implied it was about more than bad translation, saying, "Veterans of the many ceasefire negotiations during the wars in former Yugoslavia in the 1990s were aghast when they saw the text, which exists in multiple inconsistent versions and lacks the vital specifics of dates and placenames, leaving far too much wiggle room."
-- Luke Allnutt