From: Yemane Natnael (yemane_natnael@yahoo.com)
Date: Wed Aug 27 2008 - 12:21:06 EDT
Russian, Chinese presidents discuss Georgia crisis
Aug 28, 2008
DUSHANBE (AFP) — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev discussed the
crisis in Georgia with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao on Wednesday,
as Moscow looked to bolster support in its diplomatic stand-off with
the West.
"The Russian president informed his Chinese colleague
about the situation in South Ossetia and Abkhazia," Kremlin spokeswoman
Natalya Timakova said after the talks, referring to two Georgian rebel
regions at the centre of the crisis.
The meeting in the Tajik
capital Dushanbe was Medvedev's first foreign trip since Russia and
Georgia fought a brief armed conflict this month over the two regions,
which Medvedev recognised as independent on Tuesday, drawing fierce
criticism.
The West immediately slammed Medvedev's move, with US
President George W. Bush warning that Moscow must reverse the decision
and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner saying: "We fear a war."
On Wednesday, China said it was "concerned" about Medvedev's move but otherwise refrained from criticism.
"China
is concerned of the latest development in South Ossetia and Abkhazia,"
the official Xinhua news agency quoted foreign ministry spokesman Qin
Gang as saying.
"We have a knowledge of the complicated history and reality of the South Ossetia and Abkhazia issues," Qin said.
He added that China hoped for "dialogue and consultation" to resolve the issue.Abkhazia
and South Ossetia are internationally viewed as part of Georgia and no
country has yet joined Russia in recognising their independence. The
regions broke away from Georgian control after the fall of the Soviet
Union in 1991.
The stand-off threatens to have far wider
repercussions for already fraught relations between Russia and the
West. Russia has frozen military ties with the NATO alliance and has
accused the United States of rearming Georgia.
In a televised
address, Medvedev said his decision was needed to protect the lives of
Abkhazians and South Ossetians and was in line with international law,
adding: "Russia calls on other states to follow its example."
But
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov later said "we will not be roaming the
globe, twisting people's arms for them to recognise South Ossetia and
Abkhazia."
Medvedev met with China's Hu ahead of a Thursday
meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a regional
security grouping dominated by China and Russia that includes four
ex-Soviet Central Asian countries.
The Russian and Chinese
leaders talked about boosting the SCO, which was set up in 2001 as a
counterweight to NATO influence in the strategic Central Asian region.
"The
two sides talked about Central Asia and the need to strengthen the SCO
in order to bolster security in the region," Kremlin spokeswoman
Timakova said.
They also discussed trade and economic and energy ties, she said.
During
his trip to Dushanbe, Medvedev was also due to hold bilateral talks
with the leaders of Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan.
Central Asian countries have been reluctant to
express support for Russia in its confrontation with Georgia. As well
as its fear of harming vital economic and security ties with the West,
the region has its own separatist concerns.
Medvedev on Friday
was also due to visit a Russian military base in Dushanbe. Moscow has
troops based in three military installations in this mountainous former
Soviet republic, which borders Afghanistan and China.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5i_f7n_Ampb0WY9LCNqcRKEEIJ1qg
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