Russia ratifies rebel Georgia enclaves

RUSSIA formally recognised the breakaway territories at the heart of its war with Georgia yesterday, heightening tensions with the west as the United States dispatched a military ship bearing aid to a port city still patrolled by Russian troops.

Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said Georgia forced Russia’s hand by launching an attack targeting South Ossetia on August 7 in an apparent bid to seize control of the breakaway region.

“This is not an easy choice but this is the only chance to save people’s lives,” Medvedev said in a televised address, a day after Russia’s parliament voted unanimously to support the diplomatic recognition.