Free Republic

The latest crisis in the chronically uneasy relationship between Moscow and Tbilisi is not likely to fizzle out any time soon, as the positions of the two sides appear to be irreconcilable. This poses a painful dilemma for the West: do the United States and the European Union want to make the fate of Georgia and its breakaway regions a central issue in their relationship with Russia?

Russia has deported a planeload of Georgians, amid a deepening diplomatic row sparked by Georgia's recent arrest of four alleged Russian spies.

Russia has ordered a crackdown on Georgian-owned businesses and tighter visa measures as part of the nations' escalating diplomatic dispute.

President Vladimir Putin has warned Georgia not to use the "language of provocation and blackmail" against Russia in a speech in parliament. The Duma went on to vote overwhelmingly for a motion echoing Mr Putin's condemnation of "anti-Russian" and "anti-democratic" policies in Tbilisi. Tension rose in the past week when Georgia detained, then released, four Russian army officers for spying. Russia has imposed a travel and postal ban between the two countries. "I would not advise anyone to talk to Russia in the language of provocation and blackmail," Mr Putin said in the Duma. "I am talking about Georgia here."...