US Secretary of State in Georgia Hours After Deadly Georgian Firefight

by Dave Keating | July 10, 2008 at 02:47 am

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Condoleeza Rice is in Georgis today, as teh country continues to experience violence in the breakaway northern region of Abkhazia, where an ethnic minority is fighting for independence. The breakaway area is supported by Russia, which it borders.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has arrived in Georgia just hours after a deadly firefight between Georgian troops and separatists in a Russian-backed breakaway region.

Rice arrived in Tbilisi late Wednesday afternoon, and was set to dine with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili.

Ahead of Rice's arrival, a senior State Department official who did not want to be identified told reporters that unchecked conflict in the region could lead to catastrophe. The official also said Moscow should realize its Soviet empire is gone.

Georgian authorities, who accuse Russia of stoking tensions in the region, say four separatists were killed in the gun battle in the Kodori Gorge of the country's breakaway republic of Abkhazia. Several Georgian troops were reported wounded.