Powell rules out support for restive regions

US Secretary of State Colin Powell said yesterday no support should be given to Georgia's restive regions, a day after Georgia accused Russia of meddling in its domestic affairs.

"No support should be given to breakaway elements seeking to weaken Georgia's territorial integrity," Powell told a meeting in Maastricht, Holland of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Georgia's interim President Nino Burdzhanadze said at the OSCE summit on Monday that her country wanted to repair relations with Russia but not at the cost of its sovereignty.