Cheney in Ukraine on solidarity mission

The American vice president, Dick Cheney flew to Ukraine on a voyage of solidarity tonight after condemning Russia’s “illegitimate, unilateral” attempt to change Georgia’s borders by force.

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The presence of such a leading American neo-conservative on Russia’s doorstep has infuriated the Kremlin. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has already accused the neo-conservatives of encouraging Georgia to attack the breakaway territory of North Ossetia last month, in the knowledge that Russia would retaliate, as part of a ploy aimed at securing the election of Senator John McCain as president.

Mr Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told foreign journalists earlier this week that Mr Cheney’s visit would only reinforce Mr Putin’s argument.

Speaking in Tbilisi, Georgia, today, alongside the embattled Georgian President, Mikheil Saakashvili, Mr Cheney said: “Russia's actions have cast grave doubt on Russia's intentions and on its reliability as an international partner - not just in Georgia but across this region and indeed throughout the international system.”

The purpose of Mr Cheney’s visit to Georgia and Ukraine is two-pronged. Not only is he expressing US solidarity with the would-be Nato members and former Soviet republics, but the former Halliburton CEO is also discussing diversifying energy supplies to reduce dependence on Russian gas. In a speech in Lithuania in 2006, which was condemned by the Kremlin, he accused Russia of using oil and gas as a weapon.

On his way to Georgia, Mr Cheney held talks with the president of neighbouring Azerbaijan, another former Soviet republic lying on the shores of the Caspian Sea. The million-barrel-a-day pipeline runs from the Caspian through Georgia and on into Turkey bypassing Russia.

The US and European Union, which is heavily reliant on Russian gas, wants to accelerate a separate project for the future Nabucco pipeline in the light of the Georgia war. The planned Nabucco route would connect the Caspian, Middle East and Egypt through Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary to Austria.

Mr Cheney stressed after his meeting with President Ilham Aliyev yesterday that Europe and Turkey needed to work with Azerbaijan and other states on “additional routes” to secure the “free flow of resources.” “Energy security is essential to us all, and the matter is becoming increasingly urgent,” he said.

In Ukraine, Mr Cheney dined tonight with President Viktor Yushchenko, whose support for Georgia against Russia in the war brought him into conflict with his prime minister and long-time rival Yulia Tymoshenko. But the president has been weakened and the government collapsed earlier this week as both sides manoeuvre ahead of presidential elections next year.