Putin backing down -- and wising up?

The Russian government is abandoning its campaign to pressure Georgia and bring down its increasingly pro-Western President, Mikhail Saakashvili.

This could be a positive sign, if it means that Putin is starting to recognize that Russia's efforts to assert hegemony over its neighbors are backfiring and actually driving them to assert their independence (as Ukraine and the EU are doing, as the article mentions), leaving Russia isolated.

Now all we need is for him to realize that antagonizing the US by arming Iran is similarly contrary to Russia's real interests.