Source: FT.com
Georgia on Sunday said it was pulling its troops out of the separatist province of South Ossetia but its appeals for a ceasefire in the widening conflict in the Caucasus failed to halt Russia’s mounting military response.As the focus of the fighting widened from South Ossetia to Abkhazia, another separatist region, Russian aircraft were reported to have struck at targets inside Georgia, including the civilian airport in the capital Tbilisi.
Local officials said Russia also deployed a naval squadron off the coast of Abkhazia where local separatists have historically enjoyed Russia’s support.
The three-day old war in the former Soviet republic, now a vital supply route for oil from the Caspian Sea and Central Asia to Europe, has brought angry criticism from both Washington and European Union leaders of Russia’s excessive use of force. Georgia claimed that Russia had targeted the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline with at least 30 missiles, although none had hit it.
The US warned of “dangerous and disproportionate action” by Moscow.
In a statement issued in Beijing, the White House said the “dangerous escalation” of conflict could have a “significant long-term impact on US-Russia relations”. President George W. Bush, who where he is attending the Olympics, said: “The attacks are occurring in regions of Georgia far from the zone of conflict in South Ossetia. They mark a dangerous escalation in the crisis.”
…
Entries (RSS)