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Russia/Georgia

Medvedev claims Chinese, central Asian support

Article published on the 2008-08-28 Latest update 2008-08-28 13:14 TU

Medvedev speaks at the SCO(Photo: Reuters)

Medvedev speaks at the SCO
(Photo: Reuters)

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says that his allies in the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) have given a "serious signal" to the west. A statement at the meeting, involving Russia, China and four central Asian countries, gave support for Moscow"s "active role" in the conflict in Georgia but did not recognise the independence of the breakaway territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

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"I am sure that the united position of the SCO member states will have international resonance," Medvedev said.

"And I hope it will serve as a serious signal to those who try to turn black into white and justify this aggression," he added, referring to Georgia's mobilisation of troops against South Ossetia.

The SCO members, who include host-nation Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as well as Russia and China, said that they "support the active role of Russia in assisting peace and co-operation in the region".

They called for respect for "historical and cultural traditions of each country" but also demanded "efforts aimed at maintaining the unity of states and their territorial integrity" and for "the sides to peacefully resolve existing problems through dialogue".

China, which has concerns over separatism in Xinjiang province and Tibet, expressed concern and called for "dialogue and consultation" to resolve the conflict.

French Foreign Affairs Minster Bernard Kouchner Thursday called for the European Union to draw up a common position at a meeting to be held next Monday, while denying earlier reports that he had called for sanctions against Moscow.

Kouchner's Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Thursday accused him of having a "sick imagination" for saying that Moscow had designs on the Crimea, Ukraine and Moldova.

German Foreign Minister Franck-Walter Steinmeier called on Moscow to allow an international probe into claims of Georgian atrocities in South Ossetia. The separatist region's chief prosecutor on Thursday claimed that 1,692 people were killed in the Georgian attack on the region and that 1,500 were injured.