Russia broadens South Ossetia conflict

Russia and Georgia appeared headed to a wider war Saturday, with Russia targeting military and civilian sites outside the conflict zone in the breakaway region of South Ossetia and rejecting an offer of a cease-fire from the government of Georgia.

The military action, which began Thursday when Georgian troops tried to retake control of South Ossetia, has left hundreds dead and sent hundreds of others fleeing from the area.

Georgian officials reported some 210 people dead and 400 wounded. Russian officials, who blamed Georgia for inflicting heavy causalities against Russian citizens in the breakaway South Ossetia enclave, put the death toll at 1,500.

Neither count could be independently confirmed.

Georgia’s president, Mikhail Saakashvili, on Saturday issued a decree establishing martial law and putting Georgia in a state of war so that it could prepare for a full-scale Russian invasion. He has already summoned 2,000 soldiers home from Iraq, where they are fighting alongside coalition forces.

But Mr. Saakashvili also issued an urgent plea to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for a cease-fire and a call for international mediation of the crisis.

“We call on Russia to stop this madness immediately,” he said. “I ask President Medvedev to cease fire and begin negotiations right away.”

Russia’s ambassador to NATO said Saturday his country is not at war with Georgia, but there would be no cease-fire until Georgian troops returned to positions they held before their South Ossetian offensive.

Dmitry Rogozin urged the Western alliance to stay out of the “limited” South Ossetia conflict and said Russia was there to protect its nationals.

“We do not consider ourselves in a state of war. We are just [keeping] the peace and helping our peacekeepers and the civilian population,” he said.

The conflict has drawn international condemnation, with the European Union announcing a meeting of European foreign ministers early this week and the possibility of an emergency EU summit.

The European Union “strongly states its commitment to the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Georgia and its internationally recognized borders and urges Russia to respect them,” said a statement released by France, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency.

The EU “underscores that the military actions [against Georgia] could affect EU-Russian relations,” it added.

The U.N. Security Council - of which Russia is a permanent member - met Saturday to discuss the escalating conflict but was too split to issue a unanimous call for a cease-fire, diplomats said.

President Bush, speaking from Beijing where he was attending the Olympic Games, called on Russia to stop hostilities, citing the potential for “dangerous escalation.”

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