Georgia said on Friday its pro-Western President Mikhail Saakashvili would boycott wartime victory celebrations in Moscow, bringing relations between the ex-Soviet neighbours to a new low and embarrassing the Kremlin, reported Reuters. U.S. President George W. Bush risks getting sucked into the dispute -- the boycott followed friction over the withdrawal of Russian military bases on Georgian soil -- when he flies to Moscow for the May 9 festivities, and then on to Georgia. With a row also erupting on Friday between Moscow and Baltic states, Russia's tetchy relations with its ex-Soviet neighbours threatened to spoil a party to mark the 60th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany that Russian President Vladimir Putin had wanted to be a sparkling showcase. Georgia, a state of 5 million in the turbulent Caucasus region, sees the two Russian army bases as a hangover from the Soviet Union and evidence that Moscow still wants to throw its weight around in its smaller southern neighbour. After talks in Moscow, Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zurabishvili said the two sides could not agree on a timetable for withdrawal. Georgia wants the pullout completed in 2008. --More 2323 Local Time 2023 GMT
