Georgia seeks western help to remove Russian forces

GEORGIA said yesterday it would seek Western support to replace Russian peacekeepers in the breakaway province of Abkhazia with an international force, but Nato struck a cautious note.

“Russia’s presence, the presence of the Russian contingent in the conflict zone, is becoming a risk factor,” Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili told a meeting with foreign ambassadors broadcast by national television.

“We plan to start intensive negotiations with countries that are Georgia’s friends about the expediency of the Russian peacekeeping contingent’s presence in the conflict zone.”