As Russia puts troops on alert, Georgia warns of war
Russia says troops in independence-seeking South Ossetia are on increased combat readiness on the de facto border with Georgia, amid rising tension between the sides of last year’s war.
A spokesman from the Russian Foreign Ministry, Andrei Nesterenko, said in a statement on Tuesday that the move came in response to continuing “provocations from the Georgian side” ahead of the anniversary of the August war.
Nesterenko was referring to spats between Russia and Georgia over the ex-Soviet state’s aggressions on the Georgian breakaway region of South Ossetia that intensified into a five-day war on August 7 last year.
“In connection with this, we have stepped up the combat readiness of Russian troops and border guards,” he added.
In Tbilisi, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili warned of the risk of renewed conflict with Russia on Tuesday, asking the United States and European Union to help avert a fresh war.
While denying Russian charges that Georgia was planning “provocations” along the border, he sounded confident that “Europe and the United States will send a clear message” to Moscow.
His comment came as a Kremlin official warned the US and Ukraine against rearming Georgia.
“It is highly regrettable that the Americans are going to further pump up Mikheil Saakashvili’s military machine,” Russia’s deputy foreign minister Grigory Karasin told Interfax news agency.
Stressing Washington’s “key role” in the rearmament, Karasin warned that Moscow “would not stand aloof” as “an unpredictable regime” was openly armed.
Just days before the August 7 anniversary, South Ossetia accused Georgian forces of firing mortars at the rebel territory last week, while officials in Tbilisi charged Russian forces at the de facto border with gradually advancing into Georgian territory.
European Union monitors say they have seen “no evidence” to confirm any shelling, but that they were probing a number of explosions in South Ossetia near the border.
The 27-nation bloc has however warned both South Ossetia and Georgia over the border disputes.
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