Guardian UK: Georgian crisis: Georgian Conflict: Enter Sarkozy the peacemaker -
Georgian conflict - Enter Sarkozy the peacemaker
With the US too close to Georgia, France has emerged as the honest broker in the conflict. The Russian prime minister, Vladimir Putin - the man really calling the shots in this crisis - yesterday let fly at President Bush's administration. He was furious at the US airlift of Georgian troops to Tbilisi from Iraq, where they have been helping the Americans. France's moment in the diplomatic limelight stems partly from circumstance. As the current holder of the rotating EU presidency, France can naturally be expected to take the lead in trying to defuse the crisis, which began with Georgia's attempt to retake its breakaway province of South Ossetia. But Sarkozy also fancies his chances of pulling off a diplomatic coup because of his good relations with Moscow. France, along with Germany, opposed Bush's move to put Georgia on a fast track to Nato membership at the Nato summit in Bucharest in April.
