Ex-Soviet states wary of Russian action in Georgia

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By Maria Golovnina

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Some of Russia's closest allies in theformer Soviet bloc have distanced themselves from Moscow overits conflict with Georgia, heralding a possible rift with theKremlin.

Belarus, Kazakhstan and others in the Commonwealth ofIndependent States remained silent for days after fightingerupted last week as they scrambled to work out theirpositions.

As Russia grew uneasy over the silence, its ambassador toBelarus chided Minsk for failing to offer open support. Belaruseventually expressed condolences for the victims almost a weekinto the conflict but kept it statements neutral.

Georgia then announced it was pulling out of the CIS -- aRussian-led grouping of former Soviet states -- and urgedothers to follow suit.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has skilfullybalanced strong ties with both Russia and the United States,broke the silence on Wednesday, offering unusually strong wordsand saying CIS unity was under threat.

"Complex inter-ethnic issues should be solved throughpeaceful means, through negotiations. There is no militarysolution to these issues," he said in a statement.

"Unfortunately, due to actions by some CIS states, ourcommunity has become weak and has no levers to intervene insuch conflicts."

Armenia, Russia's staunchest ally in the strategic SouthCaucasus region, also expressed concern.

"It has been noted that attempts to solve existing problemsthrough military means are fraught with tragic consequences,"the presidential press service said in a statement.

Russia-friendly Turkmenistan, courted by the West as a newsource of energy for Europe, likewise said "conflicts must besolved only through peaceful, diplomatic efforts".

RUSSIA'S ISOLATION

The United States said this week that Russia, its ties withthe West already strained over several issues, risked deeperisolation because of the violence in Georgia.

The conflict over South Ossetia has already given rise tofurther disagreement between Russia and Ukraine, which hassharply criticised Moscow's military incursion.

In a gesture of support, Ukrainian leader ViktorYushchenko, with the leaders of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania,and Poland attended a mass rally in Tbilisi this week.

Russia's traditional allies were more restrained and some,such as Uzbekistan, have preferred to stay out by sayingnothing.

Azerbaijan, keen to regain control over its own rebelregion of Nagorno-Karabakh, avoided sharp words and called forpeace.

"We support the territorial integrity of Georgia andsupport efforts to avoid the escalation (of violence) in theregion and restore peace," a foreign ministry spokesman said.

Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian-populated region ofAzerbaijan, broke away following a war soon after the SovietUnion collapsed in 1991. The region, backed by Armenia, claimsfull independence but is not internationally recognised.

Independent Azeri media, however, have criticised thegovernment over its ambiguous position. The widely read Zerkalonewspaper described Russia's actions as "fascism".

Commentators in Russia said Moscow was caught off guard bythis reaction from its ex-Soviet neighbours.

"Everyone in Moscow thought: 'We are in the right and theenemy will be destroyed', but in Minsk and other CIS capitalseveryone was in disarray," Nezavisimaya Gazeta daily wrote.

"This has totally paralysed the CIS leaders includingBelarus. Moscow did not expect this from its closest ally."

(Editing by Andrew Dobbie)