US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Wednesday before departing for Europe that Russia would not get away with occupying another country, like it did Czechoslovakia in 1968. “This is not 1968 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia when Russia can threaten its neighbours, occupy a capital, overthrow a government and get away with it. Things have changed,” Ms Rice told reporters.

In related news, Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said on Wednesday that the Czech Republic would like to take part in an EU observers’ mission to Georgia. Speaking after an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Wednesday, Mr Schwarzenberg said that Georgia’s sovereignty as well as territorial integrity must be fully respected.