CHISINAU, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Moldova refuses to recognise the independence of Georgia's South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions, the government of the small ex-Soviet state with its own breakaway region said on Friday. Russia's recognition of the two regions, after chasing out Georgian troops trying to retake South Ossetia, plunged relations with the West to new lows. Russia sent peacekeepers to Moldova in the early 1990s to end a conflict between Chisinau and the breakaway Transdniestria region, which like the Georgian regions is populated by mainly ethnic Russians. "The government of Moldova does not think at this moment that international recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia will become a factor stabilising the situation," the government said in a statement. Moldova, squashed between Ukraine and Romania, fears that Russia could recognise Transdniestria especially after many Western countries supported the independence of Kosovo, formerly part of Serbia, which Russia opposed. "As in the case of Kosovo, such methods only reduce the responsibility of the sides in the conflict for the search of a compromise between them," the Moldovan statement said. Earlier this week Russian President Dmitry Medvedev assured his Moldovan counterpart, Vladimir Voronin, that Russia was keen to forge a deal in which Transdniestria would be part of Moldova as an autonomous region. Some analysts have suggested that after crushing Georgia's attempt to solve one "frozen conflict" in South Ossetia by force, Russia is interested in appearing as a successful mediator capable of negotiating a compromise in another. Transdniestria broke off contact with Moldova earlier this month until Chisinau denounced "Georgia's aggression" in its rebel regions, but since then senior Russian officials have said a solution may be reached soon. The leaders of Moldova and Transdniestria met in April for the first time since 2001 to try to hammer out a resolution to their years-long dispute. (Reporting by Dmitry Chubashenko; writing by Sabina Zawadzki, editing by Oleg Shchedrov and Mary Gabriel)
A woman walks past posters with depictions of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic along a main street in the Bosnian Serb capital Banja Luka, August 29, 2008. The posters read, ...
Moldova
