Russia recognises rebel republics

MOSCOW // Russia yesterday formally recognised the breakaway Georgian republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states, defying warnings from western leaders about the dangers of such a move. Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, said he signed a decree recognising the independence of the rebel regions and said Russia "calls on other governments to follow suit". "It is not an easy choice, but it is the only way to save people's lives," Mr Medvedev said in a statement posted on the Kremlin's website.

The announcement came after Mr Medvedev met yesterday with members of his Security Council in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi as well as with his mentor, Vladimir Putin, Russia's former president and now its powerful prime minister. Mr Putin, who many see as the person really running the country, discussed "socio-economic issues as well as certain aspects of foreign policy" with Mr Medvedev, Natalya Timakova, the presidential press secretary, told the Interfax news agency.

Mr Medvedev's announcement came one day after both houses of the Russian parliament unanimously passed non-binding resolutions asking him to recognise the regions' independence. In response to the resolutions, George W Bush, the US president, called on Russia "to meet its commitments and not recognise these separatist regions". "Georgia's territorial integrity and borders must command the same respect as every other nation's, including Russia's," Mr Bush said on Monday in a statement from his ranch in Crawford, Texas.

In his statement yesterday, Mr Medvedev repeated Russia's accusations that Georgia violated international law in its attempt on Aug 8 to capture the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali. The Russian military crushed the Georgian campaign as its troops pushed into Georgia proper. Georgia has accused Russia of aggression and appears to have largely won the propaganda battle between the two countries, having garnered strong verbal - if no military - support from western countries.

Mr Medvedev even appeared to take a dig at Georgia in the statement by identifying the capitals of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as Tskhinval and Sukhum, respectively, shunning the Georgian names for the two cities - Tskhinvali and Sukhumi. Temur Yakobashvili, Georgia's minister for reintegration, told reporters in Tbilisi the fact that Russia ignored the call of western leaders not to recognise the regions shows that Mr Medvedev's announcement was aimed "against the international community, not at Georgia", Interfax reported.

In an interview with Russian radio station Ekho Moskvy, Kakha Lomai, head of Georgia's National Security Council, said Mr Medvedev's announcement means relations between Moscow and Tbilisi "will cease for a long time, if not forever". Western countries responded quickly to Mr Medvedev's announcement yesterday. Addressing reporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, called the decision to recognise the regions' independence "regrettable" and that it would be "dead on arrival" in the UN Security Council, of which Russia and the United States are permanent members.

David Miliband, the British foreign secretary, said in a statement he would visit Ukraine today "to ensure the widest possible coalition against Russian aggression in Georgia". The pro-western leaders of Georgia and Ukraine are both seeking Nato membership for the former Soviet republics, drives that have angered the Kremlin. Alexander Stubb, the Finnish foreign minister and head of the 56-member Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe - Europe's top human rights and security body - condemned Russia's decision.

"The recognition of independence for South Ossetia and Abkhazia violates fundamental OSCE principles," Mr Stubb said in a statement. "As all OSCE participating states, Russia is committed to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of others." Until yesterday's announcement, Russia had long refrained from recognising the sovereignty of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, both of whom fought bloody wars for independence with Georgia in the 1990s. Russia, however, had supported them economically and morally, providing residents in the regions with Russian passports in what Georgia said was an attempt to stoke tensions.

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the Nato secretary general, said in a statement he rejects Russia's decision. "This is in direct violation of numerous UN Security Council resolutions regarding Georgia's territorial integrity, resolutions that Russia itself has endorsed," Mr de Hoop Scheffer said. "Russia's actions in recent weeks call into question Russia's commitment to peace and security in the Caucasus. Nato firmly supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia, and calls on Russia to respect these principles."

Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, told reporters in a conference call he does not think Russia "should really be afraid of isolation". "I don't think isolation is looming," said Mr Lavrov, speaking in English. "I don't believe this should really be a doomsday scenario. I believe common sense should prevail." Hours after announcing Russia's recognition of the two republics, Mr Medvedev said Russia is "not afraid of anything, including the prospect of a new Cold War".

"But we don't want it, and in this situation everything depends on the position of our partners," Mr Medvedev said, according to the Itar-Tass news agency. @Email:cschreck@thenational.ae