US: Rice to ask Georgia to sign pact giving Russian peacekeepers more power in border areas
A U.S. official says Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will ask Georgia to sign a cease-fire agreement with Russia that includes apparent concessions to Moscow but preserves Georgian borders.
Under the agreement, Russian peacekeepers would have the express right to patrol beyond two disputed border regions at the heart of the week-old conflict. The U.S. official says there are important clarifications still to be made and the U.S. would support additional powers for the Russian peacekeepers only if they were limited, well defined and temporary.
The official said Russia demanded the expanded mandate for its peacekeepers.
Source: AP News