Russian MPs back independence for Georgia's breakaway regions

Moscow: Russia's parliament voted unanimously on Monday to urge the president to recognise the independence of Georgia's two breakaway regions, a move likely to stoke further tensions between Moscow and the small Caucasus nation's Western allies.

The votes by both chambers of Russia's parliament were not legally binding and it was up to President Dmitry Medvedev to make the final call on establishing full diplomatic relations with South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Still, experts say the blessing by lawmakers gives the Kremlin an extra bargaining chip in its dealings with the West as Russia tries to reassert its influence in the former Soviet republics and resist moves by Georgia and Ukraine to join Nato.

"Russia's historic role of the guarantor of piece in the Caucasus has increased," said Boris Gryzlov, speaker of the lower chamber. "The Caucasus has always been and will remain the zone of Russia's strategic interests."

Currently, neither Russia nor any other member of the United Nations recognises the two provinces' independence claims. Both won de-facto independence in the 1990s after wars with Georgia, and have survived since with Russia's financial, political and military support.

Absorbed

"Neither Abkhazia ... nor South Ossetia will be part of the Georgian state," Abkhazian leader Sergei Bagapsh told the upper chamber of Russia's parliament yesterday.

Despite their desire for independence, one or both regions could eventually be absorbed into Russia.

After Georgia tried to reassert control of South Ossetia by force August 7, Russian troops overwhelmed the Georgians, and for nearly two weeks occupied positions deep within Georgia.

Most of those forces withdrew on Friday, although some Russian troops continue to operate near the Black Sea port of Poti and just outside the boundaries of the breakaway regions.

The continued presence of Russian troops in Georgia has sunk relations between Russia and the West to a post-Cold War low, as Western nations accused Russia of reneging on its commitment to withdraw forces.

The White House announced yesterday that President George W. Bush was dispatching Vice-President Cheney on a trip on September 2 for stops in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine and Italy. Cheney will hold talks in Georgia with President Mikhail Saakashvili.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called a special meeting of European Union leaders on September 1 to determine what steps the EU will take in terms of aid to Georgia and future relations with Russia. France holds the 27-member bloc's rotating presidency.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, however, said yesterday the EU was not considering any sanctions against Moscow.

Russia's critics say the conflict in Georgia heralds a new, worrying era in which an increasingly assertive Kremlin has shown itself ready to resort to military force outside its borders.

Aid

On Sunday, a US Navy destroyer loaded with humanitarian aid reached Georgia's Black Sea port of Batumi, bringing baby food, milk, bottled water and a message of support for an embattled ally.

The guided missile cruiser, carrying about 55 tons of humanitarian aid, was the first of three American ships scheduled to arrive this week.

The deputy chief of Russia's general staff suggested yesterday the arrival of US and other Nato warships in the Black Sea would increase tensions. Russia shares the sea with Nato members Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria as well as Georgia and Ukraine.

The steps taken by the United States "add another degree to the tension in the region", Anatoly Nogovitsyn said yesterday in televised remarks.