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Russia Urges Georgia to Sign Non-Aggression Pact

By VOA News
06 August 2009

Russia says Georgia cannot regain the trust of its neighbors until it signs a treaty renouncing violence against two breakaway territories that Moscow now recognizes as independent countries.

The Russian Foreign Ministry's assessment came Thursday in a lengthy statement marking the first anniversary of the brief Russian-Georgian war.

It repeats Moscow's contention that Russian forces swept into Georgia in August 2008 to protect the pro-Russian population of South Ossetia from Georgian efforts to regain control of the territory by force. It calls Georgian artillery strikes on the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, "barbaric aggression."

For its part, Georgia says it only used military force after Russian troops and tanks crossed its border.

In a related development, Europe's largest security organization is warning that the North Caucasus region where fighting took place remains "unstable and fragile" one year later.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe called for both sides to refrain from actions and statements that could further enflame bilateral tensions.

The OSCE warning came as U.S. envoy Daniel Fried met Thursday in Tbilisi with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and other top officials.

Russia on Wednesday accused the United States of rearming the Georgian military and warned the U.S. move would force Moscow to react.

Earlier this week, U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian counterpart Dmitri Medvedev spoke by telephone about reducing tensions in Georgia.

They spoke as U.S. defense official Alexander Vershbow told a U.S. Senate panel that U.S. resources are currently aimed at training Georgian forces. However, he said other forms of help could be offered in the future.

Weeks after a French-brokered cease-fire took hold last year, Moscow recognized South Ossetia and a second Georgian breakaway territory, Abkhazia, as independent countries, despite strong Western protests.