U.S. to urge NATO to scale back Russia ties
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The United States will urge NATO allies on Tuesday to consider scaling back ties with Moscow to put pressure on Russia to respect a peace deal on Georgia.
Washington called an emergency meeting of NATO foreign ministers to review relations after Russia's military intervention in Georgia, a former Soviet state that has been promised eventual NATO membership.
Months of tension between Georgia and Russia erupted on August 7, when Tbilisi sought to regain control of its breakaway South Ossetia region. Russia, which backs the separatists, launched a massive counter-offensive that extended well into Georgia.
A senior U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said on Monday there had been no evidence yet that Moscow had begun its announced troop withdrawal from Georgia and "at a minimum" NATO would be looking at suspending ministerial meetings with Russia.
"We don't want to be in a situation where we are in some kind of frozen relationship," he said. "But until Russia pulls its forces out of Georgia and respects international norms of the 21st century, we just can't go on with business as usual."
Diplomats said Britain and eastern European states backed the tough U.S. line, but other NATO members like France and Germany have been loath to antagonize Russia, a key energy supplier.
Russia's NATO envoy Dmitry Rogozin warned on Monday post-Cold War cooperation with NATO had been damaged by the alliance's support for Georgia and could deteriorate further if Georgia gained NATO membership.
He said Moscow would be closely watching the NATO meeting and warned: "If these decisions are in fact taken on behalf of the Georgian aggressor, we will not be able to maintain the quality and the schedule of our relationship with NATO."
"We have a serious temptation to bring all our potential cooperation with NATO under question," he said, adding that this included Russia allowing NATO to cross its territory to reach Afghanistan, where the alliance has a major military operation.
"STRONG MESSAGE"
A NATO spokeswoman played down reports of divisions among alliance members, saying a "strong message" to Russia was expected, calling for implementation of a ceasefire, commitment to withdraw troops and an international peace mechanism.
Carmen Romero said ministers would deliver "a very clear message of solidarity to Georgia" and reiterate a commitment to its eventual future membership.
She said NATO was also expected to agree to assess damage to Georgian infrastructure and a draft text says a lasting solution to the conflict must be based on full respect for Georgia's "independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity..."
Russia has been incensed by NATO's promise of membership to Georgia. This would extend NATO right up to Russia's southern border and many analysts believe that, and a similar promise of membership for Ukraine, was behind this month's fighting.
Washington has already responded to Russia's intervention in Georgia by excluding Moscow from discussions among the Group of Eight nations and indicating that Russia's membership of bodies like the World Trade Organization could be in jeopardy.
NATO has also barred a Russian ship from joining an anti-terrorism exercise and did not agree to a Russian request for an emergency meeting on the crisis in the Caucasus.
However, analysts say isolating Russia is not a viable option. If ties were to deteriorate to Cold War level, a lot is at stake, from cooperation within the United Nations on curbing Iran and North Korea's nuclear ambitions to access to Asia and Afghanistan.
(Editing by Robert Hart)
