Russia to cut ties with NATO if Georgia joins alliance: Envoy

Moscow, Sept 8 (UNI) Russia today said it will cut all ties with NATO if it grants Georgia's entry into the Membership Action Plan (MAP).

''It is one thing to fuss around a US protege (Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili), but quite another to give shelter to an aggressive state,'' Russia's envoy to NATO Dmitry Rogozin told RIA Novosti news agency.

''In such circumstances, there could be no question of cooperation, with NATO,'' Rogozin said.

He added from a ''moral and political standpoint, NATO's acceptance of Georgia would be tantamount to siding with an aggressor.'' NATO refused at its summit in April to allow Georgia and Ukraine into MAP, a key step for membership in the alliance, but promised to review the decision in December.

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