MOSCOW, September 9 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Foreign Ministry said Saturday it was seriously concerned about the escalating tension in the zone of the Georgia-South Ossetia conflict and called on the sides to display maximum restraint.
Four people were killed and several wounded in an armed clash Friday between Georgian and South Ossetia Interior Ministry forces near Tskhinvali. A new shootout occurred in the early hours of Saturday.
"Aware of the highly explosive nature of the current situation in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict, the Russian side is calling on Georgian and South Ossetian authorities to display maximum restraint and take all measures to prevent new dangerous incidents that could lead to a large-scale military confrontation," the ministry said in a statement.
The Russian ministry said Russia was ready to help the two sides to reduce the tension in their relations.
