EX-SOVIET STATES WARY OF RUSSIAN ACTION IN GEORGIA
By Maria Golovnina

Reuters
15 Aug 2008 12:01:42 GMT

MOSCOW, Aug 15 (Reuters) – Some of Russia’s closest allies in the
former Soviet bloc have distanced themselves from Moscow over its
conflict with Georgia, heralding a possible rift with the Kremlin.

Belarus, Kazakhstan and others in the Commonwealth of Independent
States remained silent for days after fighting erupted last week as
they scrambled to work out their positions.

As Russia grew uneasy over the silence, its ambassador to Belarus
chided Minsk for failing to offer open support. Belarus eventually
expressed condolences for the victims almost a week into the conflict
but kept it statements neutral.

Georgia then announced it was pulling out of the CIS — a Russian-led
grouping of former Soviet states — and urged others to follow suit.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has skilfully balanced
strong ties with both Russia and the United States, broke the silence
on Wednesday, offering unusually strong words and saying CIS unity
was under threat.

"Complex inter-ethnic issues should be solved through peaceful means,
through negotiations. There is no military solution to these issues,"
he said in a statement.

"Unfortunately, due to actions by some CIS states, our community has
become weak and has no levers to intervene in such conflicts."

Armenia, Russia’s staunchest ally in the strategic South Caucasus
region, also expressed concern.

"It has been noted that attempts to solve existing problems through
military means are fraught with tragic consequences," the presidential
press service said in a statement.

Russia-friendly Turkmenistan, courted by the West as a new source
of energy for Europe, likewise said "conflicts must be solved only
through peaceful, diplomatic efforts".

RUSSIA’S ISOLATION

The United States said this week that Russia, its ties with the West
already strained over several issues, risked deeper isolation because
of the violence in Georgia.

The conflict over South Ossetia has already given rise to further
disagreement between Russia and Ukraine, which has sharply criticised
Moscow’s military incursion.

In a gesture of support, Ukrainian leader Viktor Yushchenko, with the
leaders of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and Poland attended a mass
rally in Tbilisi this week.

Russia’s traditional allies were more restrained and some, such as
Uzbekistan, have preferred to stay out by saying nothing.

Azerbaijan, keen to regain control over its own rebel region of
Nagorno-Karabakh, avoided sharp words and called for peace.

"We support the territorial integrity of Georgia and support efforts
to avoid the escalation (of violence) in the region and restore peace,"
a foreign ministry spokesman said.

Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian-populated region of Azerbaijan,
broke away following a war soon after the Soviet Union collapsed in
1991. The region, backed by Armenia, claims full independence but is
not internationally recognised.

Independent Azeri media, however, have criticised the government over
its ambiguous position. The widely read Zerkalo newspaper described
Russia’s actions as "fascism".

Commentators in Russia said Moscow was caught off guard by this
reaction from its ex-Soviet neighbours.

"Everyone in Moscow thought: ‘We are in the right and the enemy will
be destroyed’, but in Minsk and other CIS capitals everyone was in
disarray," Nezavisimaya Gazeta daily wrote.

"This has totally paralysed the CIS leaders including Belarus. Moscow
did not expect this from its closest ally." (Editing by Andrew Dobbie)