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Russia Fails to Win Full Support of Asian Allies on Georgia Crisis

By VOA News
28 August 2008

Russia's Asian allies have expressed concern about the Georgian crisis and have called for dialogue.

Leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, meeting Thursday in the Tajikistan capital, failed to fully support Russian actions in South Ossetia. They stressed the importance of territorial integrity.

The decision followed a personal appeal from Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, who outlined his country's position on the crisis. The Russian leader called the conflict probably the most dramatic episode of recent times, and he accused the Western news media of incorrectly portraying the actual aggressor.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang expressed concern about Russia's recognition of the Georgian territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states. He also urged a "dialogue and consultation" in pursuit of a resolution.

Earlier, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said the European Union is considering sanctions against Russia following its recognition of the independence of the two breakaway Georgian regions.

France holds the rotating EU presidency and brokered a cease-fire agreement between Russia and Georgia in their conflict this month. It has called a special EU summit on the crisis for Monday.

In Vienna, Georgian Foreign Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili told the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe the ethnic cleansing of Georgians from South Ossetia has been completed but continues in Russian-held security zones.

The United States and other Western countries have been pressing Russia to honor the terms of the cease-fire and withdraw troops from controversial buffer zones around the breakaway regions. The deployments give Moscow a military presence in undisputed Georgian territory.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization brings together China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Georgian troops went into South Ossetia on August seventh to try to retake control of the breakaway region. Russia replied with tanks and thousands of troops, saying it had to protect Russian citizens there.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.