Russia recognizes breakaway Georgian regions

Tbilisi slams Kremlin recognition of South Ossetian, Abkhazian independence as tantamount to 'annexation' on Russia's part

News agencies|Published: 08.26.08 , 15:11

Russia formally recognized the breakaway Georgian territories at the heart of its war with Georgia on Tuesday, heightening tensions with the West as the United States dispatched military ships bearing aid to a port city still controlled by Russian troops.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Georgia forced Russia's hand by launching an attack targeting South Ossetia on Aug. 7 in an apparent bid to seize control of the breakaway region.

In response, Russian tanks and troops drove deep into the US ally's territory in a five-day war that Moscow saw as a justified response to a military threat in its backyard and the West viewed as a repeat of Soviet-style intervention in its vassal states.

"This is not an easy choice but this is the only chance to save people's lives," Medvedev said Tuesday in a televised address announcing Russia's recognition of the breakaway territories.

Russian forces have staked out positions beyond the de-facto borders of the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The two territories have effectively ruled themselves following wars in the 1990s.

"Georgia chose the least human way to achieve its goal - to absorb South Ossetia by eliminating a whole nation," Medvedev said.

'Unconcealed annexation'

Georgia's deputy foreign minister slammed Russia's announcement as tantamount to the annexation of the provinces. "This is an unconcealed annexation of these territories, which are a part of Georgia," said Giga Bokeria.

But residents in Abkhazia were overcome with joy, firing into the air, opening bottles of champagne and weeping after Medevedev's announcement.

"We feel happy. We all have tears in our eyes. We feel pride for our people," said Aida Gubaz, a 38-year-old lawyer. "Everything we went through, now we are getting our reward," she told Reuters.

A Reuters reporter in Sukhumi said she could hear celebratory gunfire and saw people opening bottles of champagne. She said she saw several people weeping with joy.

Russia's military presence seems likely to further weaken Georgia, a Western ally in the Caucasus region, a major transit corridor for energy supplies to Europe and a strategic crossroads close to the Middle East, Iran, Afghanistan, Russia and energy-rich Central Asia.

On the heels of Russia's first post-Soviet invasion of a foreign country, recognition was another stark demonstration of the Kremlin's determination to hold sway in lands where its clout is jeopardized by NATO's expansion and growing Western influence.

Medvedev ignored Western warnings against recognizing the independence claims of the two regions, which broke from Georgian government control in early 1990s wars and have run their own affairs with Russian support.

After Russia's parliament urged the move in unanimous votes Monday, the US State Department said recognition would be "unacceptable" and President Bush urged the Kremlin against it.

Britain said it rejected Medvedev's decision. "We reject this categorically and reaffirm Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity," a spokeswoman for the British Foreign Office said.

"This is contrary to obligations that Russia has repeatedly taken on in (United Nations) Security Council resolutions. It does nothing to improve the prospects for peace in the Caucasus," she added.