RUSSIA HAD NO CHOICE ON RECOGNITION OF GEORGIAN REGIONS: BELARUS

Agence France Presse
August 28, 2008 Thursday 3:20 PM GMT

Belarus said Thursday that Russia had no choice but to recognise the
independence of two Georgian regions, a statement from the presidency
said, but it did not indicate whether the country would follow suit.

"Russia had no moral choice but to support the appeal of the
peoples of South Ossetia and Abkhazia to recognise their right to
self-determination," the statement said.

Russia is facing an avalanche of condemnation from the West over its
decision to recognise the independence of two Georgian secessionist
regions at the heart of the conflict that erupted in the ex-Soviet
republic this month.

No other country has followed Russia’s lead in recognising the regions,
and the statement from the Belarussian presidency was one of the
strongest statements of support so far.

"The Republic of Belarus remains a reliable and consistent partner
for Russia," the statement said.

The statement also called for the regional group, the Collective
Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), to make a joint statement on
the conflict at its meeting on September 5.

The CSTO comprises Russia, Belarus, Armenia and the ex-Soviet Central
Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The president of CSTO member Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, on
Thursday said he related "with understanding to all the measures that
have been taken by Russia" but did not specifically mention the move
to recognise the regions’ independence.