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TBILISI: President Mikheil Saakashvili on Tuesday vowed Georgia would not give up its "struggle" to restore territorial integrity after Russia recognised the independence of two breakaway regions.
Saakashvili lashed out at Russia for seeking to change the borders of Europe by force but also said that Georgia would pursue the quest for its territorial integrity peacefully.
"We will continue our struggle to restore peacefully our territorial integrity," Saakashvili said in a televised address to the nation.
"There is no doubt. Georgia will be unified and indivisible. We will defeat the evil," he said.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced earlier that Moscow was recognising the pro-Russia rebel Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
"This is the first attempt in Europe after Nazi Germany and the Stalinist Soviet Union to put a neighbouring state on its knees and to change the borders of Europe by force," he said.
Saakashvili accused Russia of seeking to "break the Georgian state, undermine the fundamental values of Georgia and to wipe Georgia from the map."
"Today's step by Russia is completely illegal and will have no legal consequences, neither for Georgia nor for the rest of the world," he added.
"Russia has made an extraordinary strategic mistake and has badly damaged its place in modern international relations."
Sitting at a desk and flanked by an EU flag, Saakashvili said he had urged Western leaders to speed up Georgia's integration into NATO and the European Union.
"I have appealed to all leaders concerned to speed up Georgia's NATO and EU integration. We already have some positive signals from our North Atlantic and European partners," he said.
Russia had bristled at Tbilisi's ambitions to join the Western military alliance but European leaders such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel have backed eventual membership.
Russian forces entered Georgia on August 8 after Saakashvili sent Georgian troops into South Ossetia in a bid to restore the control of the Tbilisi government in the region.
Russian troops also poured into Georgia through Abkhazia, another pro-Moscow rebel Georgian region.
France brokered a ceasefire but the United States and other Western nations have accused Russia of breaching the accord by keeping tanks and troops deep inside in Georgia.
Georgian National Security Council Secretary Alexander Lomaia earlier said Russia would face isolation after its decision to recognise the independence of the regions.
"This decision has no legal force. Russia will face harsh political consequences from this," he told AFP.
"Russia opposes the whole world and has chosen a path of isolation. We will soon see how damaging this decision will be for Russia's economy."
Georgian Justice Minister Nikoloz Gvaramia said Russia's decision "lead to extremely serious consequences for the Russian state." - AFP/de
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