Russia warns of Georgian ‘threat’
Tbilisi denounces Moscow’s decision to send extra troops to separatist regions.
Military ‘build-up’
“Any attempt by the Georgian side to resolve the conflicts with force against Russian peacekeepers and also against Russian citizens … will be met with an adequate and tough answer,” the ministry said.
Although Moscow did not detail how many additional troops would be sent to the provinces, it said that 15 new observation posts would be set up on the front line in Abkhazia.
Javier Solana, the European Union foreign affairs chief, said that Moscow’s decision was unwise.
“Even if the increase in peacekeepers is within limits – if we want to diminish the perception of tensions, I don’t think it is a wise measure to increase now,” he said.
Close ties
Moscow has established increasingly close ties with the separatists, including encouraging residents there to take up Russian citizenship and frequently inviting the regions’ leaders to Moscow.
“There has been no increase in forces from the Georgian side, nothing at all. The Russian statement is simply not true” Shota Utiashvili, Georgian interior ministry spokesman |
Georgia accuses Moscow of attempting to annex Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Many analysts say that increasing bitter row is part of a dispute between Russia and Georgia over the former Soviet state’s attempts to join the Nato military alliance.