Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Georgian leaders of seeking to resolve their country's territorial disputes by force. Mr Putin told Russian TV viewers that in Georgia's breakaway Abkhazia region "people are very concerned about the militarisation of Georgia". Russia was also "alarmed by the current leadership's policy of resolving these problems by force", he said.
The pro-Russian separatist authorities in Abkhazia and South Ossetia want independence from Georgia, but Tbilisi has vowed to reimpose its rule in the rebel regions. Mr Putin warned that it would be a big mistake for Georgia to resort to force. "We cannot allow bloodshed in this region," he said. | "Unless we're the ones doing it." |
He insisted that Russia did not have territorial ambitions in the Caucasus.
"We're not trying to increase our territory. We have enough territory," he said. He stressed the need for peaceful compromise, saying "we respect the Georgian people... Georgians made a huge contribution to Russian statehood". | Mostly at the expence of Georgia |
He said Russia would be closely watching developments in Kosovo, the mainly ethnic Albanian province which broke away from Serbia. |