Raising awareness of the crisis in Georgia could help ease

the Russian stranglehold on the country's economy, a leading

Bristol councillor believes.

Councillor Derek Pickup, a member of the ruling Labour

cabinet, is vice-chairman of Bristol's twinning association

with Tbilisi, the Georgian capital.

He wants the Georgian ambassador in London to be invited to

talk to all 70 members of the city council to highlight the

conflict, which led to the Russian invasion of the neighbouring

former Soviet republic earlier this month.

Russian troops are still in Georgia, despite international

pressure and a partial withdrawal from areas including the city

of Gori, as part of an EU ceasefire deal.

Both houses of parliament in Russia yesterday demanded that

Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia have

their independence formally recognised.

Mr Pickup, who has a summerhouse about an hour's drive from

Tbilisi, said: "Political pressure will still be needed to get

the Russians to move back to where they were before August 8.

Meanwhile, there are problems of getting aid in.

"Poti, the main port, is still in Russian control. So how

can you get aid into the country? I imagine, too, that the

Georgians can't export their oil or the produce of their huge

wine industry because they can't use Poti."

In recent years, he said, the country had started to pick

itself up and invest massively in new roads and other

infrastructure to boost its economy.

The conflict and the many tens of thousands of refugees were

now putting enormous pressure on the country's ability to cope,

said Mr Pickup.

Exchange visits between the Bristol and Tbilisi twinning

associations planned for this month and October had to be

postponed. Mr Pickup said it was hoped the trips could take

place in November.