Georgia warns of 'domino effect' in Caucasus crisis

Georgian Foreign Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili yesterday warned of a "domino effect" in the Caucasus region and Ukraine after Russia moved troops into Georgia, and ruled out any talks with Moscow in the short term.
"Russia's military hostility against the small state of Georgia could have a domino effect in other countries of the region like Ukraine," Tkeshelashvili said during a press conference with Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan in Istanbul.
Babacan hosted Tkeshelashvili, two days before he is to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the same city.
"When the weapons fall silent, it is time for diplomacy," the Turkish minister said. But there are no plans for a three-way ministerial meeting, a government official said earlier.
Tkeshelashvili said Tbilisi would not talk to Moscow "for as long as the Russian Federation has not left Georgia and does not fully apply the ceasefire".
Russian troops entered Georgia on August 8 to push back a Georgian offensive to retake South Ossetia, which broke away from Tbilisi in the 1990s with Moscow's backing.
Georgia and Russia accuse each other of having provoked the conflict.
Moscow has pulled out most troops after a French-mediated ceasefire agreement but Tbilisi wants all Russian forces to leave the country.