Russia aiming to take over Georgia

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said Russia intends to take over his country to secure energy supply routes from central Asia and to begin ridding the region of democracies.

"They want the whole of Georgia," Mr Saakashvili said in an interview with Germany's Rhein-Zeitung newspaper.

"The Russians need control over energy routes from central Asia and the Caspian Sea," he said in the interview to be published in Rhein-Zeitung tomorrow.

"In addition, they want to get rid of us, they want regime change," he added. "Every democratic movement in this neighbouring region must be got rid of."

Mr Saakashvili said he had spoken to US President George W. Bush who had signalled his "full support".

"He understands that it's not really about Georgia but in a certain sense it's also an aggression against America," he told the paper.