Georgia faces tough UN push

AFP

Georgia rallied its Western allies this week after claiming to have come under russian missile attack, but Tbilisi still faces an uphill battle in getting the UN Security Council to consider the case.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili wasted little time in raising a cry over Monday's incident, accusing Moscow of a "provocation" meant to destabilize his pro-Western regime.

Moscow adamantly denied launching the missile, which landed 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the Georgian capital but did not explode.

Now Georgia wants the issue taken up in one of the highest courts of international opinion: the UN Security Council. But So far, the Security Council's rotating presidency, currently headed by Congo, has taken a tentative approach.

"We are looking forward to hear more about the facts ... so that would enable the Security Council to have a full picture of the situation before engaging any action," Congolese Ambassador to the UN Pascal Gayama said Thursday.But Washington and the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia - which are frequently at odds with Moscow - have thrown their weight behind Georgia.