Russia’s decision to recognise the rebel Georgian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states was a “deliberate violation of international law,” Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt wrote on his blog on Tuesday.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who announced earlier on Russian television on Tuesday that he had signed a decree recognising the two breakaway provinces, had “now dramatically escalated the crisis between Russia and the rest of the world,” Bildt said.
“That the Russian leadership has chosen this path means that they have chosen a policy of direct confrontation, not only with the rest of Europe but also with the international community as a whole,” Bildt wrote.
“The decision is also a deliberate violation of international law and basic principles for stability in Europe,” he added.
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