Moscow warns against Georgia NATO membership

NATO will trigger outright secession by Georgia's Moscow-backed rebel regions if the alliance puts Georgia on the path to membership, Russia's ambassador to NATO said yesterday.

The Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions already run their own affairs but pro-Western Georgia's bid to join NATO could cement the split and make it more likely foreign states will recognize the separatists, Dmitry Rogozin said in interview.

Moscow is fiercely opposed to ex-Soviet neighbor Georgia joining the alliance, and the warning was delivered three weeks before a NATO summit in Romania at which members will consider whether to initiate the membership process for Georgia.