President Klaus says both sides to blame in conflict over South Ossetia

President Klaus has said both sides are to blame in the military conflict over South Ossetia. In a statement for Czech Radio, Mr. Klaus said that he strongly condemned both Georgia’s attack on South Ossetia and the massive intervention of the Russian military. He said that to lay the blame exclusively at Russia’s door would be unjust, and noted that with the separation of Kosovo, Russia had obtained a strong justification for its action. The president likewise rejected the comparison with the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, saying that the circumstances in the Caucuses were entirely different.