Ukraine offers to mediate in Russia-Georgia conflict

Ukraine offered to mediate in the current diplomatic conflict between Russia and Georgia concerning Chechen rebels allegedly based on Georgian territory. The soured Russian-Georgian relations have put Ukraine in a "very difficult" situation, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma said in Kyiv. He declined to comment on the latest events in Georgia's Pankisi gorge, the Georgian region where Chechen rebels are said to be operating. He said that Ukraine does not know all the details of the situation. But he warned against using force indiscriminately. "If we are talking about Chechen terrorists, there has to be a strictly coordinated action," he said.