Lavrov tells West to lose Saakashvili

RUSSIA:RUSSIA'S MILITARY intervention in Georgia announced its return to the status of world power, foreign minister Sergei Lavrov declared yesterday, as he urged the West to abandon its erstwhile closest ally in the Caucasus, Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili.

Lauding Russia's crushing of Georgia's bid to reclaim the rebel region of South Ossetia, Mr Lavrov suggested Moscow would respond in the same way to similar circumstances elsewhere, and called for an arms embargo against Mr Saakashvili until he was removed from office.

"Through its response to Georgian aggression, Russia has set a kind of standard for reaction, which fully complies with international law," Mr Lavrov said.

"Russia has returned to the world stage as a responsible state which can defend its citizens."

Moscow says its campaign to stop Georgia retaking South Ossetia was intended to prevent a humanitarian calamity and save the lives of locals, most of whom have Russian passports.

Mr Saakashvili claims his forces were only deployed to halt a Russian invasion of South Ossetia, and says the Kremlin is determined to destabilise Georgia to keep a foothold in the key region and undermine his country's bid to join Nato.

"To guarantee the region is protected against new outbreaks of violence, Russia will continue to take measures to make sure that the [Georgian] regime is unable to commit evil deeds ever again," Mr Lavrov said. "It would be appropriate to impose an embargo on arms supplies on that regime until different leaders have turned Georgia into a normal country."

As EU leaders met in Brussels, Mr Lavrov added: "If instead of choosing their national interests and the interests of the Georgian people, the United States and its allies choose the Saakashvili regime, this will be a mistake of truly historic proportions."