Russia Turns East for Support Amid Row Over Georgia

By Lyubov Pronina and Dune Lawrence

Aug. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Russia looked East in its standoff with the West. It didn't get much help.

A summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a seven- nation security alliance that includes China and four former Soviet republics, yesterday declined to back its recognition of two breakaway Georgian regions. China expressed ``concern,'' said Qin Gang, a Foreign Ministry spokesman.

The U.S. highlighted Russia's isolation. ``I would just say that it wasn't what I would call an endorsement,'' U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Wood said in Washington. ``The fact that you haven't seen countries come forth and recognize these two parts of Georgia's territory is a significant sign.''

The fallout from Russia's recognition in defiance of western appeals of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the two Georgian enclaves, continued as Russia test-fired a Topol intercontinental ballistic missile it said was capable of eluding anti-missile systems. The U.S. last week signed an agreement to install just such a system in Poland.

Also yesterday: French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said the European Union was considering sanctions on Russia; Ukraine appealed to be considered for EU membership; Turkey complained of Russian pressure as it allowed U.S. warships to enter the Black Sea; and Russia made new threats to back out of trade agreements.

Countering NATO

After triggering U.S. and European condemnation of his move to split Georgia, a U.S. ally and the site of an oil pipeline to Europe that bypasses Russia, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called for an expansion of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to counter NATO.

``Expanding the group would realize Russia's goal of turning the SCO into an anti-American, anti-NATO counterweight,'' said Yevgeny Volk, an analyst in Moscow for the Washington-based Heritage Foundation research group. ``It comes as a result of Western criticism of Russia for its military action in Georgia and for recognizing the breakaway regions.''

Medvedev traveled to the summit in the Tajik capital Dushanbe in search of support from China and its Central Asian allies, meeting with Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao on Aug. 27.

They offered only limited backing of its actions in Georgia, where it fought Georgian troops for five days over South Ossetia. They stopped short of giving diplomatic recognition to the regions.

In addition to Russia and China, the seven-year-old organization includes Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. India, Iran, Pakistan and Mongolia have ``observer'' status.

Iran's View

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declined to say whether his country supported Russia's actions in Georgia, telling reporters in Dushanbe that ``countries that do not belong to a region do not interfere with the countries of that region.''

In its statement, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization welcomed the EU-brokered cease-fire that ended the fighting and offered support for ``Russia's active role in helping to create peace and cooperation in this region.''

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, a staunch ally of Russia, said he viewed Russia's actions in Georgia with ``understanding.'' Russia ``either had to just walk past or stop the bloodshed of that long-suffering people,'' he said.

Belarus may become the second country to recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia as early as today, Interfax reported, citing the Belarusian ambassador to Russia, Vasily Dolgolev.

Chinese Concerns

China, which has restive ethnic populations in its western regions of Xinjiang and Tibet, and claims sovereignty over Taiwan, has been wary of inserting itself into the international dispute over Russia's actions in Georgia.

China has long espoused a policy of non-intervention in other countries' internal affairs, a stance it invokes in defending its actions in Tibet, Xinjiang and Taiwan.

``China's reaction to this dispute has been very muted because we're also very aware of the secessionism in Xinjiang, Tibet, and the Central Asian countries also have the same worries,'' said Zhu Feng, a security expert at Peking University's School of International Studies.

The Shanghai organization has condemned an attempt by Taiwan to seek greater international recognition and unrest in Tibet.

`Inalienable Parts'

A Taiwanese referendum in March that called for the country to join the United Nations under the name ``Taiwan'' posed a ``threat to stability in the region,'' the organization said. It called protests in Tibet last spring ``illegal actions'' and said it considers Tibet ``an inalienable part'' of China, according to statements on the organization's Web site.

While Russia is so far alone in recognizing Abkhaz and South Ossetian statehood, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia won't try to compel its allies to follow suit. ``Unlike some of our major foreign partners, we prefer that each country think for itself,'' he said in Dushanbe.

Other members of the Shanghai organization may be wary of falling afoul of the U.S., according to Shen Dingli, director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai.

``Nobody wants to offend America,'' he said.

France's Kouchner said yesterday some of the bloc's leaders ``will propose sanctions, others will be against'' when they meet on Sept. 1 to discuss the situation in Georgia. In a subsequent statement, Kouchner said France hasn't called for sanctions and will seek to forge a common EU position.

Separately, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accused the U.S. of orchestrating Georgia's attack on South Ossetia, which triggered the war, to ``stir up the situation'' and create an advantage for one of the candidates in the U.S. presidential election.

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino dismissed the charge as ``patently false and ``not rational.''

To contact the reporters on this story: Lyubov Pronina in Dushanbe via the Moscow newsroom at lpronina@bloomberg.net; Dune Lawrence in Beijing at dlawrence6@bloomberg.net