Russia's efforts to redraw the map of the Caucasus received a frosty reception from China, a further sign of how Moscow's conflict with Georgia is scrambling diplomatic alignments in place since the end of the Cold War.
China, which has often sided with the Kremlin in international diplomacy, broke a silence on the conflict to voice unease Wednesday about Russia's recognition of two separatist regions of Georgia as independent states. The Chinese Foreign Ministry expressed 'concern' about the development.
Moscow's decision to formally recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia -- both of which fall within Georgia's borders -- also found little support elsewhere in the world. Western nations condemned it. Even traditional Russian allies in the former Soviet Union, such as Belarus, held off endorsing Moscow's move.
Kremlin officials said they were confident Moscow isn't isolating itself. But the international response to what amounts to a redrawing of Georgia's borders suggests diplomatic troubles ahead for the Kremlin. Moscow's war with Georgia, which began Aug. 8 and saw Russian troops push deep into Georgian territory, already has led Washington and European capitals to reassess their relations with Moscow.
China hasn't joined the West's chorus of criticism, but its disquiet over the recognition of separatist enclaves strains what had been a close diplomatic partnership between Moscow and Beijing.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev flew to Tajikistan for a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a five-nation group including China that the Kremlin has sought to build up as a counterweight to Western alliances. He discussed the Georgian crisis with Chinese leader Hu Jintao, but neither side revealed the details of the conversation.
China's unease over Russia's decision undermines a pillar of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's diplomatic policy -- forging close ties with Beijing as a counterbalance to Washington. At the core of Moscow's diplomatic partnership with Beijing was a shared commitment to the sanctity of international borders and noninterference in the internal affairs of other states. With its own problems with separatists in regions such as Tibet, China has in the past been reluctant to support breakaway groups.
Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov said China's response 'does not mean China is isolating Russia.' Although Mr. Medvedev called on other countries to follow its decision on recognition, 'we're not going to twist anyone's arms,' Mr. Peskov said. He said Russia is 'currently' the only country to recognize the separatist regions.
The Kremlin's move was criticized in the West, and the pressure continued Wednesday. In a phone conversation with Mr. Medvedev, German Chancellor Angela Merkel demanded 'immediate implementation' of a French-brokered cease-fire, including the withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgian soil, her office said.
Russian officials said they have met the terms of that agreement and promised to remove from Georgian territory a few hundred remaining 'peacekeepers' once international monitors are in place. Wednesday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov challenged Berlin's account of the presidential phone conversation, calling the tone 'normal and businesslike.'
In South Ossetia's capital, Tskhinvali, President Eduard Kokoity celebrated by drinking a three-liter bowl of wine on the main square, news agencies reported. He said he expects other nations to recognize his country, but didn't name them. South Ossetia is entirely dependent on Russian aid, which Mr. Peskov said would continue.
In Akhalgori, an ethnically Georgian town that is within the boundaries of South Ossetia, the situation remained tense. Once controlled by Georgia, Akhalgori is in the hands of Russian troops and heavily armed Ossetian militia. Many of its 7,500 inhabitants, 95% of them Georgian, have already left.
'This is South Ossetia,' said a militiaman who identified himself only as 'the commander.'
Sitting at a Georgian police checkpoint down the road surrounded by about 30 armed policemen, Tsezar Chocheli, the Georgian governor of the local region, said he hoped the Russians and Ossetians would eventually leave. He said local police had been forced to withdraw from checkpoints closer to the edge of the town on Tuesday after the Russians and Ossetians threatened to open fire.
In western Georgia, meanwhile, a U.S. naval ship carrying aid avoided a Georgian Black Sea port where Russian troops still are present, backing Washington away from a potentially risky showdown with Moscow.
The American ship, Dallas, docked in Batumi, a Georgian port far from Russian troops. The U.S. Embassy in Georgia had initially suggested the U.S. vessel would instead go to Poti, a Georgian port further up the coast where Russian troops still are active.
Gregory L. White / Andrew Higgins / Andrew Osborn
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