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Condoleezza Rice: Russia must leave â€œdangerous gameâ€ with the West

19 August 2008 08:01 (UTC +04:00)

Washington â€“APA. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Russia was playing â€œvery dangerous gameâ€ and the West must deprive Russia of any strategic victory in the North Caucasian conflict. â€œWe have to deny Russian strategic objectives, which are clearly to undermine Georgia’s democracy, to use its military capability to damage and in some cases destroy Georgian infrastructure and to try and weaken the Georgian stateâ€, said Rice. She noted that NATO foreign ministers would discuss at their emergency meeting in Brussels the ways to assure Dmitriy Medvedev to keep his promise to withdraw troops from Georgia. â€œI think the French president will demand from Russia explanations of dishonor of its promises. Peoples can feel themselves protected by the Trans-Atlantic institutions. We should remind that Russia is far from the role of geo-strategic center once former USSR played. Russian strategic air forces even violated the US borders. It is very dangerous game and the Russians must leave this gameâ€.

Nato will today deliver a "strong message" to Russia over its conduct in Georgia - but is likely to stop short of the punishment measures some members want to see.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has called an emergency meeting.
US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice called the emergency meeting of Nato’s foreign ministers in Brussels to decide on a response to events of the last 10 days.
The US wants the alliance to review its ties with Russia, specifically the Nato-Russia Council which promotes talks on issues like defence and counter-terrorism.
The tough American stance is backed by the UK. Diplomatic sources have told Sky News that Russia needs to be shown that "it is not business as usual, it has damaged its standing".
But other Nato members are wary of antagonising Russia. The German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has warned against a "knee-jerk" reaction.
A Nato spokeswoman has played down reports of a division among the allies. She said it was expected they would reaffirm the commitment made to Georgia earlier this year that it would join Nato in the future.
But the difference in approach among members reflects that across Europe. Germany, France and Italy are among the countries that fear the damage of a new Cold War.
It was those countries which blocked Georgia being offered a fast-track to Nato membership earlier this year. Some in the US say that was "weakness" which Russia is now exploiting.
John Bolton, the former US ambassador to the United Nations, has told Sky News the Brussels meeting is a defining moment for Nato.
He said: "I would rather know now where some of the European nations stand than much later when the stakes may be larger."
The common ground at the meeting means Nato may agree to send experts to assess the damage caused in Georgia along with increased humanitarian aid.
They will also discuss where the conflict leaves Ukraine, also aspiring to join Nato.
Condoleezza Rice will head from Brussels to Warsaw to sign a deal with Poland over the controversial missile defence shield. That is certain to raise the temperature further between Moscow and Washington.