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Paris: Increasing Russian aggression risks democracy, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili warned in an article in the Wall Street Journal Europe on Monday.
"If Georgia falls, this will also mean the fall of the West in the entire former Soviet Union and beyond," Saakashvili wrote.
"Leaders in neighboring states -- whether in Ukraine, in other Caucasian states or in Central Asia -- will have to consider whether the price of freedom and independence is indeed too high."
Georgian and Russian troops have been battling over the pro-Moscow South Ossetia region since Friday, when Georgia moved in to take control of the area.
Saakashvili said Georgia had pursued diplomatic means to resolve the dispute, but Russia’s backing of rebels harmed peace efforts.
"Rather than serve as honest broker, Russia became a direct party to the conflicts, and now an open aggressor," he wrote.
"Can a Russia that wages aggressive war on its neighbours be a partner for Europe?"
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