TBILISI (Reuters) – Despite leading Georgia into a disastrous war with Russia and losing two of the country’s provinces, President Mikheil Saakashvili looks politically secure for now as Georgians unite in adversity.

Russia has received limited backing from the East over its role in Georgia. At an Asian regional security summit, Russia’s fellow members of the Shanghai Cooperation Council – China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan – expressed support for what they called Moscow’s efforts to restore stability in the Caucasus.

Russia has sent a missile cruiser and two other ships to Sukhumi, the capital of Abkhazia, after a US military ship docked at a southern port in Georgia.The show of force coincides with the escalating standoff between the West and Moscow, over its conflict with Tbilisi. There was an effusive …