MOSCOW. Sept 19 (Interfax-AVN) - The United States has acknowledged that Russian peacekeepers were one of the aims of Georgia's aggression against South Ossetia.
Despite U.S. appeals to Moscow and Tbilisi, Georgia swallowed the bait and got trapped: its military ambitions were directed against Russian peacekeepers near its border, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs David A. Merkel said on the Ekho Moskvy radio station on Friday.
The diplomat also said that by deploying troops in Georgia, Russia violated its international obligations.
Russia does not respect international legal norms and disregarded Georgia's territorial integrity backed in the UN, Merkel said.
The international community should state its resentment of Russia's recognition of the Abkhaz and South Ossetian independence, he said.