I was so taken by this AP headline that I went ahead and quoted it.
It brings up an interesting question that I continue to wonder about, vis-a-vis the Russian government's continued attempts to destabilize some neighbors via ethnic tensions while hoping to hold down its own autonomy-seeking ethnic minorities. Where will the PRC place its support? Obviously, it wants to support another major power that similarly seeks to maintain its own internal integrity, but as China is dealing with its own ethnic separatists, it's a little painful for their government to have to decide to back the Russian effort to lever off South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
I'd still put money on the PRC government just hanging out, hiding behind the Olympics, and saying things like this:
China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang issued a statement during the weekend saying the conflict should be resolved peacefully through dialogue.
Indeed. How likely is that to happen?