* Russia wants no mention of Georgia in resolution-Georgia * Georgian envoy says willing to compromise with Moscow By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS, June 10 (Reuters) - A draft resolution to extend the mandate of U.N. observers in a breakaway region of Georgia will lead to tougher monitoring of Russian compliance with a 2008 ceasefire, Georgia's U.N. envoy said on Wednesday. But Georgian Ambassador Alexander Lomaia also told Reuters that Russia opposes much of what's in the resolution and that Germany, France, Britain and the United States, which prepared the draft, had failed to change Moscow's position. The U.N. mission, in place since Russian-backed Abkhazia threw off Tbilisi's control in 1993 and set to expire June 15, has been politicized since a brief war last year between Russia and Georgia over another breakaway region, South Ossetia. The Kremlin recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states after the war, a step that was condemned by Europe and the United States. "This resolution, if adopted, would eventually lead to the establishment of a strong U.N. mission in Georgia, one that would first and foremost monitor the compliance of Russia" with the 2008 ceasefire, Lomaia said. Georgia supports the resolution, drafted by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's "Group of Friends on Georgia." Russia, also a member of the group, did not help draft the resolution and opposes mentioning Georgia by name anywhere in it and wants all direct or indirect references to Georgia's territorial integrity removed from the draft, Lomaia said. A spokesman for Russia's U.N. delegation had not immediate comment. RIGHTS ABUSES Lomaia also accused Russia of violating human rights in Abkhazia and said the resolution would address the issue. Russia has previously denied that it has committed any abuses in the region, which Tbilisi considers part of Georgia. Only Russia and Nicaragua recognize it or South Ossetia as independent. "The resolution calls for a very considerable increase in the policing capacities of the mission," Lomaia said. "It calls for a considerable increase in the amount of the police force ... in order to address those human rights violations." The resolution also would create a "favorable environment" that would allow the return of some of those forced out of Abkhazia and would protect their rights, he said. The 2008 war between Russia and Georgia escalated tensions between Moscow and major Western powers, leading to angry exchanges between the United States and Russia reminiscent of the Cold War. Lomaia said the resolution also contained a provision urging Ban to prepare a set of proposals for expanding the activities of the U.N. mission in Abkhazia -- known as UNOMIG -- to South Ossetia. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Europe's top security and rights watchdog, has a small observer mission in South Ossetia. Lomaia said the Russians were "isolated on the issue of our territorial integrity" but acknowledged that Moscow's veto power as a permanent Security Council member meant that Tbilisi would have to accept a compromise with Russia. He said Georgia was willing to be flexible and hoped "Russia is also ready to be flexible." "But I am not optimistic," he added. (Editing by Paul Simao)
People take pictures with a cellular phone of a man walking along a flooded street after a storm in Russia's southern city of Stavropol June 5, 2009. REUTERS/Eduard Korniyenko (RUSSIA ENVIRONMENT ...
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