Moscow  - President Dmitry Medvedev was meeting his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao and the leaders of four ex-Soviet Central Asian nations on Wednesday in a bid to secure support for Russia its standoff with the West over Georgia.

Medvedev flew to the capital of Tajikistan for two days of consultations with his partners in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as Western leaders renewed their condemnation of Russia's diplomatic recognitition of breakaway regions of Georgia.

The SCO was formed in 2001 as a counterweight to NATO's growing influence in the region.

Brussels - NATO's 26 member states on Wednesday called on Russia to reverse its recognition of the independence of two breakaway Georgian regions, warning Moscow that Georgia's security and stability were "important" to the alliance.

The North Atlantic Council, which brings together the ambassadors of NATO's 26 member states, "condemns the decision of the Russian Federation to extend recognition to the South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions of Georgia and calls upon Russia to reverse its decision," a statement from NATO's Brussels HQ said.

Moscow  - Russian newspapers on Wednesday supported President Dmitry Medvedev's decision to recognize the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, but expressed fears the move could harm Moscow's relations with the West.

"Goodbye America, Goodbye Europe?" led the popular daily Moskovsky Komsomolets, while business newspaper Kommersant splashed "The President of Russia is ready for confrontation with the West," across its front page.

Most analysts were caught off guard by the president's announcement on Tuesday, expecting the Kremlin to delay such a move and use the threat of recognizing the two Georgian regions to enhance its bargaining position with the West.

London - Russian President Dimitry Medvedev has issued a thinly veiled call for Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to resign in an article published in the London-based Financial Times Wednesday.

Calling Saakashvili a "madman" who had murdered hundreds of largely Russian civilians in an assault on the sleeping city of Tskhinvali, Medvedev said Russians felt "historic friendship and sympathy" for Georgians in general.

Moscow - Russia's nuclear energy monopoly Rosatom agreed on construction of a new power plant in Russia's European exclave of Kaliningrad, the company said in a statement Wednesday.

Rosatom chief Sergei Kiriyenko inked the deal Wednesday for the construction of the plant about 120 km from the capital of the Baltic Sea exclave between Poland and Lithuania.

The plant will have two reactors with a total capacity of 2,300 megawatts by the first stage of construction in 2015.

When plans for the plant were announced in April, Kiriyenko highlighted the export potential of the project.

The Rosatom head also said the company was prepared to allow up to 49 per cent of the plant to be held by foreign investors.

Riga - The Baltic states on Tuesday condemned Russia's decision to recognize two breakaway Georgian regions, saying it would not help finding solutions for peace in the region.

Russia's decision to recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia was a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia, Lithuania's Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas said.

"Russia's move is a deliberate breach of international law and the principles of stability in Europe," Estonia's Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said.