Georgia demands Russia drop pro-rebel plans

Georgia demanded on Thursday that Russia drop plans to forge closer ties with two rebel regions of Georgia and urged the international community to help it put pressure on Moscow.

"We demand that Russia cancel all the decisions which breach the sovereignty of Georgia," Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili told a Cabinet meeting.

Foreign Minister David Bakradze called for a special debate by the U.N. Security Council to discuss the moves, which are likely to become a new irritant in relations between Russia and Western nations.

Russia said on Wednesday it would establish legal links with Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which border Russia in the Caucasus.

South African Ambassador to the United Nations Dumisani Kumalo told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York that he received a letter from the Georgian delegation requesting a special council session on the latest developments with Russia.

Kumalo, who holds the Security Council's rotating presidency, said the 15-nation body would most likely discuss the letter next week.

In response to a reporter's question about the Georgian request, Britain's U.N. ambassador, John Sawers, said, "I think there have been some worrying developments in the south Caucusus and we need to consider this letter carefully."

U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain accused Russia of seeking a de facto annexation of part of Georgia and urged European governments to join in condemning Moscow.

"We must not allow Russia to believe it has a free hand to engage in policies that undermine Georgian sovereignty," he said.

"POLITICAL MISCHIEF"

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his government to recognize some documents issued by the separatist authorities and cooperate with them on trade and other issues, provoking a sharp reaction from NATO, the European Union and United States.

Saakashvili, whose relations with Moscow are strained, praised the NATO secretary-general for calling on Moscow to overturn its planned measures.

"NATO and the international community also demand not just to soften this move but to revise it and cancel it. This is extremely important," Saakashvili said.

The United States and key European Unions nations are closely allied to Georgia and suspect Russia of trying to punish the small Caucasus state for its bid to join NATO.

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told Russia to reverse the moves, while a senior U.S. official said Moscow was engaging in "political mischief."

Georgia said it would also use the little-used Berlin mechanism to seek a special meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

The leaders of the two rebel regions were both reported by Interfax news agency late on Thursday as warning of a buildup by the Georgian military close to the sectors under their control and threatening to respond to any attacks.

Saakashvili has ruled out using force to resolve the standoff with Moscow and said he will seek a diplomatic solution to the dispute.