Eurasia

IGOETI, Georgia (Reuters) – A Russian military convoy advanced to within 55 km (34 miles) of Tbilisi on Friday, a Reuters witness said, in the deepest incursion since conflict with Georgia erupted last week.

GENEVA/MOSCOW (Reuters) – The United Nations and Red Cross have poured hundreds of tonnes of aid supplies into Georgia but need better security conditions before deploying in South Ossetia, the two bodies said on Friday.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will meet Friday Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on the second day of his visit to the neighboring country.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Fierce American criticism of Russia’s military action in Georgia and Washington’s support for Tbilisi is almost certain to jeopardize a very different US strategic objective: stepping up pressure on Iran with another layer of United Nations sanctions.

President Saakashvili says the Russian army controls around a third of Georgia, two days after both Moscow and Tbilisi signed up to a ceasefire. Tanks and troops deployed around three Georgian towns despite growing international pressure for the military to withdraw.

Prosecutors from Russia and South Ossetia said they were investigating claims of what they called Georgian “genocide” in the separatist region.

For many people who fled South Ossetia, there is an agonising decision to make: do they take the risk of returning home now, or wait until there is confirmation that a complete ceasefire is being respected. In one sanatorium in North Ossetia, more than 300 people have sought refuge.

The US Secretary of State has been in France, as part of her mission to rally support for Georgia. Condoleezza Rice had talks with President Nicolas Sarkozy and the French foreign minister, whose nation currently holds the EU presidency.

Georgia’s two breakaway states have re-affirmed their intention to declare independence. The leaders of South Ossetia and Abkhazia met President Medvedev at the Kremlin, who said Russia supported them and would guarantee their future.

Georgian police, who went back into the town of Gori this morning, are now said to be leaving, as Tbilisi claims Russian troops are “systematically destroying the town’s military infrastructure”.