Russian soldiers will stay in Georgia

Relations between the West and Moscow have plummeted to their lowest depths since the end of the Cold War, prompting fear that an economically invigorated Russia would strive to reestablish authority over what it views as its centuries-old sphere of influence, including Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Top diplomats of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization members said they would reconsider their relations with Moscow in light of its incursion into Georgia.

In this month's fighting, at least 64 Russian soldiers were killed and 323 injured, Nogovitsyn said. Russians were outraged by what they called an unprovoked surprise attack by Georgians on Russian peacekeepers based in South Ossetia, as well as civilians in the breakaway region. Georgians have accused Moscow of provoking the fight as a pretext for sending troops into Georgian territory.

Officials in Georgia, the U.S. and European nations have demanded that Russia pull its troops back to positions held before the fighting broke out Aug. 7.

President Bush reiterated that message Wednesday during a speech at the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention in Orlando, Fla., and defended Georgia's claim to South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another pro-Moscow breakaway region.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday that the presence of Russia's forces is "now having an effect" on Georgia's neighbors, Armenia and Azerbaijan, by making imports and exports difficult. She said Armenia is beginning to see shortages.

Rice said that as of midafternoon, U.S. officials had seen no signs of a Russian retreat from Georgia. Another U.S. official said some movement suggested that some military units might be pulling back.

In Moscow, Nogovitsyn said "time will tell" when Russians would pull troops out of areas they control in Georgia proper, including the key city of Gori. He called the proposed new checkpoints "observation posts."

Georgian officials voiced outrage over the continued Russian presence. The Georgian Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday that Russians had set up a new position along the highway between the Black Sea port city of Poti and Abkhazia.

"Over the last seven days they've promised three times to leave, but they've yet to fulfill their promises," said Alexander Lomaia, Georgia's national security advisor, during an interview in downtown Gori.

"We're here and we haven't seen any sign of them pulling out," he said. "There is the same number of checkpoints and the same severe rules for entering and exiting."

The U.S. military flew in five loads of relief supplies, news agencies reported. It is also attempting to dispatch several military vessels from the Mediterranean to Georgia's Black Sea coast with additional aid.

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daragahi@latimes.com

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Loiko reported from Moscow and Daragahi from Gori. Times staff writers Paul Richter in Warsaw and Richard Boudreaux at the United Nations also contributed to this report.