Scottish vote on independence causes growing alarm in Western capitals
Scotland's vote on leaving the United Kingdom is causing growing alarm in Western capitals while energising separatist movements across Europe
Britain's international partners are aghast.
Many nations fear that if Scotland votes to leave the UK next week, it may foreshadow a British exit from the European Union - the subject of a 2017 referendum promised by Prime Minister David Cameron. That vote could weaken the world's sixth-largest economy and its continental partners.
Some also fear it would set a precedent, boosting separatism in Catalonia in Spain, and other parts of Europe. Independence campaigners from around the continent have underlined this by flocking to Edinburgh to support the "Yes" campaign and to draw lessons for their own struggles.
I would openly admit that I would rather see Great Britain remain together
Some posed for a group photograph with Scottish nationalist leader Alex Salmond, now racing to turn narrowing opinion polls into a win on Thursday.
The potential break-up of a leading Western power is not sitting well in other capitals.
US President Barack Obama has been forthright in urging Britons to stay together and in the EU.
"We obviously have a deep interest in making sure that one of the closest allies that we will ever have remains a strong, robust, united and effective partner," Obama said on a June visit to Europe.