Russia backed over Georgia by ex-Soviet bloc
Russia won backing over Georgia on Friday from six ex-Soviet states, but the bloc stopped short of joining Moscow in recognising the independence of the breakaway regions at the centre of the conflict.
By Agencies |
MOSCOW: Russia won backing over Georgia on Friday from six ex-Soviet states, but the bloc stopped short of joining Moscow in recognising the independence of the breakaway regions at the centre of the conflict.
The leaders of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan rallied as expected behind their giant neighbour at a summit in the Russian capital Moscow.
"The partners in the organisation have given a unanimously negative assessment of Georgia's actions, Georgia's aggression in South Ossetia," Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said afterwards.
Russian troops remain deep inside Georgian territory despite international calls to pull out after Russia fought off an attempt by Georgia to retake its separatist province of South Ossetia last month.
Moscow has so far failed to persuade close regional allies to join it in recognising the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, a move some fear could complicate other territorial disputes in the region.
Medvedev read out several extracts from a joint declaration signed by the Moscow-dominated bloc known as the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO).
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"The member states are deeply concerned by Georgia's attempt to solve the conflict in South Ossetia by violent means which led to numerous deaths among civilians and peacekeepers," he read. He went on to say they were all "worried by the growing military potential and escalation of tension in the Caucasus region" and were calling for "a balanced and objective" evaluation of the situation.
Fiercely condemned by the West, Medvedev was looking to the six leaders to show the world that Moscow has backers, officials and analysts said.
So far only distant Nicaragua -- an old Cold War battleground -- has followed Russia's lead in recognising the independence of the two rebel provinces which split from the rest of Georgia in conflicts in the early 1990s.
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Russian leaders have jetted round the region, with Medvedev announcing closer military ties with Tajikistan and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin unveiling a new pipeline deal in energy-rich Uzbekistan. This push comes as US Vice President Dick Cheney made his own tour of US-friendly states in the region. The vice president held talks with Ukraine's pro-Western leaders on Friday and warned of Russian aggression.
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"Ukraine's best hope to overcome these threats is to be united -- united domestically first and foremost and united with other democracies," he said after talks with Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko. Russia has so far won the clearest backing on Georgia from immediate neighbour Belarus, a vocal critic of the United States with whom it has extremely close diplomatic and economic ties.
Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko has said Russia had no choice but to recognise Abkhazia and South Ossetia and even gushed that Moscow had acted "beautifully" and "wisely" in its military surge into Georgia.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, another fierce US critic, has also voiced support, saying Russia was "defending its interests."
In the face of a steady stream of Western criticism, the Kremlin has angrily argued that Russia used military force only in response to a Georgian attack against South Ossetia, where tens of thousands of Russian citizens live.
During his visit to Tbilisi on Thursday, Cheney accused Russia of an "illegitimate" invasion to redraw the map of Georgia and cast doubt on whether Russia could be trusted as an international partner.
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