West seeks ceasefire in Georgia
British defense minister says combined delegation of EU, US, NATO officials heading to war-torn Georgia with intent of brokering ceasefire with Russia.
A combined delegation of EU, US and NATO officials are travelling to Georgia to seek to broker a ceasefire in the conflict in Georgia's separatist South Ossetia region, Britain's Defense Secretary Des Browne said on Saturday.
"This evening a delegation of US, EU, OSCE and NATO officials will be going to Georgia to try to broker a ceasefire," he said on Sky television, referring to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Meanwhile Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accused Georgia of seeking "bloody adventures" and trying to drag other countries into a military conflict.
" Georgia 's aspiration to join NATO ... is driven by its attempt to drag other nations and peoples into its bloody adventures," he said during a meeting in the Russian city of Vladikavkaz. Putin also defended Russia's incursion into South Ossetia and urged Georgia to immediately stop "aggression" against the breakaway rebel region.
"From a legal point of view, Russia's actions in South Ossetia are totally legitimate," Putin said. "We urge the Georgian authorities to immediately stop their aggression against South Ossetia, to stop all violations of all standing agreements on a ceasefire and to respect the legal rights and interests of other people."
More than 2,100 people have died in fighting in South Ossetia and Georgia since late on Thursday, according to combined estimates from the parties involved.
Georgia, a staunch US ally, launched a major offensive Friday to retake control of breakaway South
Ossetia. Russia, which has close ties to the province and posts peacekeepers there, responded by sending in armed convoys and military combat aircraft.
Russia said Saturday it had driven Georgian forces from the capital of South Ossetia, but Tbilisi denied the claim.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Saturday that Moscow sent troops into South Ossetia to force Georgia into a ceasefire. Moscow has said it needs to protect its peacekeepers and civilians in South Ossetia, most of whom have been given Russian passports. Ethnic Ossetians live in the breakaway Georgian province and in the neighboring Russian province of North Ossetia.
