Source: FT.com
Dmitry Medvedev, Russian president, failed on Thursday to win support from China or the former Soviet republics of central Asia in his deepening dispute with the west over military action in Georgia. At a central Asian summit in Tajikistan, Mr Medvedev was unable to persuade Hu Jintao, the Chinese president, or other regional leaders to give explicit backing to Russia’s intervention or its decision to recognise the independence of the two breakaway regions, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. While the leaders refrained from criticising Russia, their joint statement gave the Kremlin only modest comfort. “[We] express grave concern in connection with the recent tensions around the South Ossetian issue and urge the sides to solve existing problems peacefully, through dialogue, and to make efforts facilitating reconciliation and talks,” said a final statement from the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, which groups Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The leaders welcomed the French-brokered ceasefire deal that ended the fighting between Russia and Georgia and acknowledged Russia’s role in the Caucasus, saying they supported “Russia’s active role in contributing to peace and co-operation in the region”. Before the summit China had expressed its “concern” about “the latest changes in South Ossetia and Abkhazia”, an unusual move for Beijing which generally refrains from negative comment about Russia. Chinese officials declined to comment on Thursday but western diplomats in Beijing said the summit statement fitted closely with Chinese views. China had avoided any anti-western flourishes and – an absolute priority – any support for separatism. China, with restless ethnic minorities in Tibet and Xinjiang province, is concerned about precedents that might be set in Georgia, as are the central Asian states. Full Story…
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Get Out of Dodge!
Russia fails to secure regional backing
Source: FT.com
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