Georgia regions may secede if NATO seeks closer ties: Russia

"In the case of any invitation to Georgia on the part of NATO, driven by the United States, we can expect the separation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia," Ambassador Dmitry Rogozin told AFP in an interview. Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke away from Georgia in conflicts in the early 1990s in which thousands of people were killed and hundreds of thousands of ethnic-Georgians were forced to leave their homes. Both have called for international recognition of their self-declared independence, citing Kosovo’s move to break away from Serbia as a precedent, a move recognised by several European NATO nations and the United States.

Rogozin underlined that a national referendum on NATO organised in December by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was not held in its two breakaway republics. "This is why I think that if NATO accepts that Georgia takes part in the Membership Action Plan (MAP), that this could provoke the secession of the two territories," he said."This would be enough for the separatists to go through with secession," added Rogozin.

The MAP programme, seen as an anti-chamber to NATO membership, helps aspiring countries meet alliance standards and prepares them to join."Its not just the MAP, but the entire process that leads to Georgia’s entry into NATO," Rogozin said. "It is a very dangerous process because it could reheat the conflict."

"All this is of concern to us, because its happening near our borders. Many citizens of the northern Caucasus have links with South Ossetia and Abkhazia." With economic and diplomatic support from Russia, the two Caucasus mountain provinces have existed as de facto independent states.However no country, including Russia, has officially recognised their independence and Georgia says it intends to restore control. The Georgian public, meanwhile, is largely in favour of NATO rapprochement, but the 26-nation transatlantic alliance is divided over such a move. NATO countries were deeply disturbed by the state of emergency which the Georgian government imposed in December to end opposition protests.

They are also concerned about already tense relations with Russia, which has reacted angrily to the NATO ambitions of its ex-Soviet ally Ukraine as well as Georgia, with Russian officials saying their country is being surrounded. But despite its intention to ease into relations with the man who will replace President Vladimir Putin -- his ally Dmitry Medvedev -- NATO insists that Russia can have no veto over its enlargement. "We don’t have the right to veto NATO enlargement, but we have a moral and political authority, as well as our national interests," the Russian ambassador said in a telephone interview. "This enlargement is a big problem," he said. "NATO must understand that Saakashvili wants to integrate into NATO to involve it in the conflict."

Rogozin said the Russian parliament was due to discuss Abkhazia and South Ossetia this week.Â