NATO and Russia in verbal disagreement

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said on Tuesday after the alliance held an emergency meeting in Brussels that it's freezing regular contacts with Russia until Moscow fully withdraws troops from Georgia. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov retorted that NATO's statements were biased.

"We have determined that we cannot continue business as usual," the 26 NATO states said in a joint declaration. "The Alliance is considering seriously the implications of Russia's actions for the NATO-Russia relationship," it added.

However, de Hoop Scheffer said that the alliance is not abandoning the NATO-Russia Council, but as long as there are Russian troops in Georgia, he cannot see why communication should be left open. Certain states such as Britain and Germany expressed doubts about cutting off links with Moscow.

While, Lavrov said that the Western military alliance is trying to save a "criminal regime" in Tbilisi. "NATO is trying to make a victim of an aggressor and whitewash a criminal regime, save a collapsing regime and is taking a path to the rearmament of the current leaders in Georgia," said Lavrov.

He added that Russia can withdraw troops in three to four days, but that depends on how quickly Georgia moves its troops to their permanent bases.

Source: Reuters
Photo courtesy of NATO