Sissy Saakashvili says afraid to leave for summit

Georgia's puppet has said he will not attend a European Union summit to address his country's conflict with Russia, as he fears Moscow would not let him return.

"If I leave Georgia, the Russians will close our airspace and prevent me from returning home," Mikheil Saakashvili said in an interview published in Wednesday's edition of the popular German newspaper Bild.

EU leaders will gather Monday in Brussels, where they are expected to review ties with Russia, which has been criticized by the bloc for recognizing on Tuesday the separatist Georgian republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and for excessive use of force in its response to Tbilisi's attack on South Ossetia earlier this month.

Saakashvili said his country's military capabilities are not enough to withstand Russia. "Militarily, we have no chance," he said.

Russia has said that Georgia lost its right to the two regions after its offensive in South Ossetia, which left hundreds dead and forced thousands to flee the devastated region.

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