U.S. Worries Russo-Georgian Tensions May Escalate

Daniel Fried, the U.S. acting undersecretary of state, said on May 8 Washington was concerned tensions between Russia and Georgia could escalate, the Voice of America and Reuters reported.

Speaking at a congressional panel Fried, however, also said he did not believe either of the countries wanted war.

“But what we fear is that with so much tension, so many armed people in close proximity, and a record of provocations, that there could be a spark setting off a wider problem, and suddenly you’re dealing with deaths and shooting and an out-of-control incident,” VOA and Reuters quoted him saying at a hearing before the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe.

“We worry about that a great deal,” Fried said.

“We do not like the heated rhetoric that has come out of Russia. Sometimes Georgian rhetoric is hot as well. While we have urged restraint on Georgia, there is a difference between a very small vulnerable country and a very large country that we have to keep in mind. Even though we do counsel restraint on the Georgians, they are the vulnerable party and it is their territory that is under threat.”

He also said that “provocations on all sides must stop.”

“Russia needs to help put the Abkhazia dispute on a negotiating track, not use it to intimidate its smaller neighbor.”