Special Extra — Russia, Firing Blanks

Things could not be going worse for Russia:  Not one nation of the world has stepped forward to join Russia in recognizing Ossetia and Abkhazia as separate from Georgia, while virtually the entire planet has vigorously condemned Russian aggression, Europe and the U.S. unifying against Russian imperialism.  And now, the Associated Press reports, in a starkly humiliating development, Russia has even been repudiated by China and the Central Asian states in its own back yard!

Criticized by the West, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday asked China and four ex-Soviet nations to sign a declaration of support for Russia’s role in the conflict in Georgia. But Russia’s hopes of gathering support were dealt a huge blow when the five countries denounced the use of force and called for respect for every country’s territorial integrity. The joint declaration from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization deepens Russia’s international isolation.

Medvedev had appealed to the alliance — which consists of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan — for unanimous support of Russia’s response to Georgia’s “aggression. Medvedev’s appeal had raised fears in Western capitals of the emergence of a competing strategic alliance to NATO forming around Russia — but the other Asian nations may have been reluctant to strain their relations with Europe and the United States. Medvedev also discussed the situation in Georgia’s breakaway regions with Chinese President Hu Jintao. China has traditionally been wary of supporting separatist movements, mindful of its own problems with Tibet and Muslims in the western territory of Xinjiang.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang was quoted by state news agency Xinhua as saying “the situation in the region … should be resolved in dialogue.”

To make matters even worse, Russian “president” Dmitry Medvedev had gone public before the statement was issued claiming the group would express a “united position” of support for Russia’s actions and send a “strong signal” to the West.  The slimeballs at Russia Today, the Kremlin’s propaganda TV network, went with the red herring as well.

Meanwhile, the European Union is proposing to impose economic sanctions against Russia as a result of its barbaric invasion of Georgia, and the U.S. is sailing warships into the Black Sea. Nice job there, Mr. Putin!

It’s an absolute disaster for Russia on every front.