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MOSCOW, Aug. 8 -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev gives priority to the maintenance of long lasting peace and security in Transcaucasia, the Kremlin said on Saturday. Medvedev on Saturday sent a letter to his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy, whose whirlwind diplomacy last year helped secure a ceasefire deal that ended a brief war between Russia and Georgia. The first anniversary of the war fell on Saturday. In his message, Medvedev spoke highly of Sarkozy's efforts to resolve the conflict last August. He also said Moscow attaches great importance to talks on safeguarding the stability of the Caucasus region. Georgia's rebel regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia broke away from Tbilisi's rule during a war in the 1990s that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union. Russia and Georgia fought a five-day war last August, when Georgia attacked South Ossetia to retake the renegade region that borders Russia. In response, Moscow sent in troops to drive Georgian forces out of the region. Russia recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states two weeks after the conflict ended. |
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