Russia is winning with ease as West looks away from Georgia

Western Georgia: Thunder rolled off the hills of western Georgia on Saturday, with nature adding to the gloom of Georgia.

Dry river beds were swelled by torrential rain. Overnight the landscape changed just as it has done politically.

"This is not the Cold War," said US president George W. Bush. Try telling that to the irregulars from Abkhazia out in their makeshift checkpoints.

"America is Georgia's ally, but where are the soldiers," asked one irregular demanding an answer. His colleagues had their guns pointed at us and he was insistent on getting an answer.

"Where?" he shouted and then answered it himself "Nowhere", demanding instant agreement.

Silly talk

It was a frightening way to get his message across but his main point was right. And not only are American troops not supporting an ally but the eyes of the West are diverted by silly talk of ceasefire and political solutions.

This is a conflict between symbolism and strategy and Russia is winning with consummate ease.

Gori is a symbolic city, Stalin's birthplace, and approximately located in the centre of Georgia. It pales into strategic insignificance when compared to Poti on the Black Sea coast, which is under Russian occupation. The importance of Poti is that it allows Russia the use of another Black Sea port in case Ukraine ever insists on prohibiting Russia from using its base.

At the outset of war the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry threatened to do just that and inadvertently sealed Poti's fate with these words.

"Ukraine reserves its right to bar [the Russian Black Sea Fleet] warships and vessels which could take part in the action [conflict with Georgia] from their Sevastopol base in Ukraine."

The reality on the ground far away from the plush hotels where diplomats gather is that Russia has a prized asset, another Black Sea port, one of the country's most sought after possession either under the rule of a Czar, Politburo, or ex-KGB prime minister.

It is not going to give it up. It may surrender Gori for the good publicity and international TV cameras, but Poti and Western Georgia are far away from the cameras.

The fiercest fighting of the campaign occurred in western Georgia and Russian troops and Abkhazia irregulars display no sign of withdrawing. Why should they, the West has not even acknowledged what has been happening in western Georgia.

Point of view: 'EU too soft on Moscow'

Poland's president criticised the way France and Germany have handled the crisis between Russia and Georgia, accusing them on Saturday of being too soft on Moscow due to their commercial ties with Russia.

Lech Kaczynski also said that European Union policy was being decided by the two EU giants without taking into consideration the views of new EU members such as Poland that once fell under Moscow's control during the Cold War.

"Once again, it turns out that the real decisions in this organisation are being made between Berlin and Paris," Kaczynski said in an interview published by the daily Rzeczpospolita and also posted on his official website.

"Saying that the Union will have a common policy towards Russia is laughable," Kaczynski said.

- AP