An embargo on weapons sales to Georgia should be imposed to avert another conflict in the region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday.
"For starters, it would be correct to impose an embargo on delivery of arms to that regime, until another government turns Georgia into a normal state," Lavrov said in a speech to university students.
He said Russia would continue to take steps to "punish the guilty" and to ensure that the government of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili "can never do this again."
Lavrov was referring to the attack by Georgian forces on the breakaway province of South Ossetia on August 7, a move that was met by a fierce Russian counter-offensive deep into Georgian territory.
He said Russia wanted "the closest cooperation" possible with the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations to apply a French brokered six-point ceasefire.
Georgia is a close ally of the United States, which has strongly supported Tbilisi's goal of joining the NATO alliance. Russia has accused the United States of direct involvement in the conflict over South Ossetia.
