(adds further Lavrov quotes) MOSCOW, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Russia has no intention of toppling Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili but cannot view him as a proper partner after his actions in South Ossetia, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday. "We have no plans to topple anyone," Lavrov told a news conference alongside Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, chairman of the Organisation for European Security and Cooperation (OSCE). "In any case, it is not a part of our political culture or foreign policy to topple anyone or put someone on a throne." Lavrov made his comments before Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said he had called an end to fighting in Georgia. Georgian Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze responded by saying Georgia needs "more evidence" of a Russian halt to military operations. Lavrov also appeared to cast doubt on a peace proposal advanced by European Union and OSCE mediators if it included the presence of Georgian troops in any new peacekeeping unit. "We can hardly agree with this because it would assume the presence of people described as Georgian peacekeepers. They can no longer remain," Lavrov said. "They committed crimes and shot at comrades with whom they served in the same peacekeeping unit." He said Russia would have difficulty "not just holding negotiations with Saakashvili, but simply talking to him". He said Moscow did not insist on the Georgian president's departure from office as a condition for talks, "but our general approach is that Mr Saakashvili can no longer be our partner. It would be better if he went." Lavrov criticised U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for suggesting to European officials that Russia was trying to remove Saakashvili or insisting he leave office. "This is an irresponsible stance when a great country is informed in this way about the position of the Russian leadership," he said. (Reporting by Ron Popeski and Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Michael Winfrey)
A man from Georgia waves a Georgian flag during a demonstration in front of the Russian Embassy in Prague August 12, 2008. He is protesting against Russia's military campaign in Georgia. ...
Georgia
