(Adds Belgian ambassador, paragraphs 7 and 9) By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Russia, at odds with the United States over Georgia, tried unsuccessfully to push the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday to condemn U.S.-led air strikes in Afghanistan that killed dozens of civilians. The Russian delegation had drafted a statement, seen by Reuters, that would say the council's 15 member states are "seriously concerned" about the U.S.-led coalition attacks on Aug. 22, which the U.N. mission in Afghanistan says it believes killed 90 civilians, most of them children. Russia and the United States are permanent members of the council with veto power, along with France, Britain and China. The draft statement, which several diplomats said had no chance of getting the unanimous backing it would need for approval, also says council members "deplore" the fact that this has happened before in Afghanistan. "I think the Russians want to divert attention from Georgia and annoy the Americans," said one diplomat. Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin declined to comment when asked whether the draft statement was linked to the Georgian crisis. "We hope it's going to be adopted by the council," he told reporters. Belgian Ambassador Jan Grauls, the current president of the Security Council, told reporters after the meeting there was no agreement among council members on the Russian statement. The U.S. military has launched an investigation of the incident, after first saying it was unaware of any civilian casualties in an air strike on a known Taliban commander that killed 30 militants. Grauls said it would be preferable to wait for the results of the investigations before making any statements about what happened. Russian and U.S. envoys at the United Nations have repeatedly exchanged insults and accusations in recent weeks on the issue of Georgia, which Russian troops invaded earlier this month to thwart a Georgian attempt to retake a rebel enclave. Diplomats said the council did not discuss Russia's decision on Tuesday to recognize the independence of Georgia's two breakaway regions, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The crisis in the Caucasus erupted after Georgia, a former Soviet state, sent its military on Aug. 7-8 to try to recapture South Ossetia. Russia responded with overwhelming force, sending troops and tanks far into Georgia. (Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
A Russian armoured vehicle leaves the tunnel in the territory of South Ossetia as it heads towards the Russian border, August 26, 2008. Georgians on the streets of Tbilisi reacted defiantly ...
Afghanistan
