Russia/Georgia

MOSCOW (AP) — Defying the United States and Europe, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced Tuesday he has signed a decree recognizing the independence of the breakaway Georgian territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Few other nations are likely to follow Russia's lead but the move is sure to further escalate tensions between Moscow and the West. Experts say the move gives the Kremlin an extra bargaining chip in its dealings with the West as it tries to reassert influence in the former Soviet republics and resist moves by Georgia and Ukraine to join NATO. Medvedev's declaration comes as Russian forces remain in Georgia after a war, staking out positions beyond the de-facto borders of the separatist regions. Abkhazia and South Ossetia have effectively ruled themselves following wars with Georgia in the 1990s. Russia's military presence seems likely to further weaken Georgia, a Western ally in the Caucasus region, a major transit corridor for energy supplies to Europe and a strategic crossroads close to the Middle East, Iran, Afghanistan, Russia and energy-rich Central Asia.

In a direct challenge to Russia, the United States announced Tuesday it intends to deliver humanitarian aid to the beleaguered Georgian port city of Poti, which Russian troops still control through checkpoints on the city's outskirts. The aid will be delivered Wednesday by ship, a U.S. embassy spokesman said. Western nations have called the Russian military presence in Poti a clear violation of an EU-brokered cease-fire. In a move that angered Russia, the United States sent the missile destroyer USS McFaul to the southern Georgian port of Batumi, well away from the conflict zone, to deliver 34 tons of humanitarian aid on Sunday.

A Congressional battle over funding of a U.S. missile defense plan in Eastern Europe threatens to undermine the Bush administration's case that the system is not aimed at Russia. President George W. Bush's administration has argued that the missile shield — bolstered last week by an agreement to allow U.S. interceptors in Poland — was aimed at securing the United States and allies in the region from nuclear threats by North Korea and Iran. But as Republicans try to convince Democrats to speed along legislation to fund the program, they are pointing to Russia's invasion of Georgia as a reason the program is vital. The rhetoric risks strengthening Moscow's argument that the system is merely a new Cold War incarnation directed against them.