U.S. weighs measures against Russia – Rice

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The United States is mulling what measures to take should Russia exploit the oil or minerals of two Georgian breakaway provinces it invaded last month, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Friday.

Interviewed by Reuters, Rice used unusually stern language to describe actions by Russia, which she said had dug itself into a “hole” internationally with its incursion into formerly Soviet Georgia.


“Sometimes when someone has dug a hole, it’s just best to leave them in it,” Rice said of the Russians.

Much of the rest of the world, she said, was turned off by Moscow’s military incursion into Georgia last month and subsequent recognition of two separatist areas of Georgia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, as independent states.

Under a French-brokered ceasefire deal, Russia has until Oct. 10 to withdraw troops from “security zones” around South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Russia has said it will keep a planned 7,600 troops in the two separatist regions indefinitely.

U.S. officials warn that Moscow will face a strong reaction if it does not comply with the ceasefire deal. Rice said Washington is also watching to see whether Moscow moves to extract natural resources from the breakaway regions.

Reuters