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US blasts Russia in Georgian airspace spat

The US criticized Russia for deliberately violating Georgian airspace by sending fighter jets over the separatist region of South Ossetia, saying the action threatened regional stability.

The violation is deeply troubling and “raises questions about Russia’s role as peacekeeper and facilitator” of talks between Georgia and separatist leaders in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in Washington on Monday.

Georgia recalled its ambassador from Moscow on Thursday after the Russian Foreign Ministry said military planes conducted a “brief flight” over South Ossetia in response to information of a possible Georgian invasion of the region.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s government blames rising tension and violence in Georgia on Russia, which has further strained Russia’s ties with the West. The government in Moscow opposes Georgia’s bid to join NATO, as it considers the eastward expansion of the alliance to be a threat to its security.

The aircraft were sent over South Ossetia after Russia received information of a “possible direct invasion” of South Ossetia by Georgian troops to free four soldiers detained by authorities in the self-proclaimed republic.

“It became necessary to take urgent and effective measures to prevent bloodshed,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

The appearance of Russian air force planes in the skies over South Ossetia allowed cooler heads to prevail in Tbilisi and averted Georgia’s use of force in the region, “the likelihood of which was more than real,” the ministry said.

Saakashvili accuses Russia of backing the separatist regimes in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Both have pro-Russian leaderships and Russian peacekeepers and most of their citizens hold Russian passports. Saakashvili has pledged to bring them back under central government control.

The US has pressed for Georgia’s admission into NATO and other Western institutions.

The former Soviet republic is crossed by an oil pipeline carrying crude from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean, bypassing the Middle East and Russia and increasing Georgia’s strategic importance to the West.

“We urge all members of the international community, including Russia, to support Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders,” McCormack said in a statement issued in Washington.

The UN Group of Friends of the Secretary-General, which comprises Britain, France, Germany, the US and Russia, is trying to broker a settlement to the conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The US “fully supports” the group and is actively engaged in its initiative, McCormack said.

Abkhazia on Monday rejected the group’s proposals.
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