RUSSIA: Russia's President Vladimir Putin has threatened military action against Georgia to close down Chechen rebel bases he claims are operating inside the country.
Moscow's forces have been put on standby for an invasion with security chiefs summoned to an emergency meeting with Mr Putin in the southern resort city of Sochi.
Mr Putin has backed his threat by invoking the same United Nations Security Council Resolution, 1373, being used by the US to justify its proposed military action against Iraq.
The threat comes after two months of sabre-rattling between Russia and Georgia over the continued ability of Chechen forces to mount raids into Russia, then dash back to safety in Georgian territory. In a televised message to the nation, Mr Putin told the Russian people that it was time for action against "hundreds of terrorists" hiding in Georgian territory.
Claiming Russia's "inalienable right of self-defence", he said action may be imminent "if the Georgian leadership fails to create a security zone in the area of the Russia-Georgian border, fails to prevent outrages and incursions into Russia's neighbouring areas". Mr Putin claimed that Resolution 1373 - drafted by the US after the September 11th attacks - covers a Russian invasion because it compels states to prevent terrorism and deny terrorists safe havens. Russia has long claimed that Chechen rebels are "terrorists", citing links with al-Qaeda.
In his address, Mr Putin also said military action could be justified under article 51 of the United Nations charter, which allows states to use force in self-defence.
Georgia denies that it harbours Chechen forces, and Tbilisi is playing down reports of tension, with Security Minister Mr Valery Khaburdzania insisting there was "no particular alarm". The truth is that Georgia is terrified. The Chechens have long had bases in Georgian, using them as a springboard for attacks into Chechnya during the war with Russia.
But Georgia's President, Mr Eduard Shevardnadze, already under pressure with his economy in ruins and his government accused of corruption, fears antagonising his own ethnic Chechens.
The focus of any attack will be the Pankisi Gorge, a long winding valley of jagged mountain peaks which runs up to the Russian border. It is here the Chechens have had bases and depots for supplying their forces inside Russia.
Now it appears Russia has had enough. Significantly, the threats are clear, rather than vague, and they are made not by ministers, but by Mr Putin himself, in the past a sign that action is imminent.
The timing is also significant. A senior US diplomat, Undersecretary of State Mr John Bolton, is in Moscow seeking Russia's support for Washington's call for the UN Security Council to back an invasion of Iraq. Now Russia is, calling for a quid pro quo, with Washington expected to give Moscow a free hand in Georgia.