Rossiya TV journalist Andrei Chistyakov and cameraman Igor Sturit were detained earlier in the day at the Georgia-controlled Tamarasheni-Kekhvi checkpoint on Russia's border with South Ossetia, a breakaway province of Georgia.
The men, who work for the channel's bureau in Pyatigorsk, South Russia, had traveled to the South Ossetian village of Kurt to make a report about local peacekeeping efforts in the turbulent area.
A senior police official in Georgia said earlier the detainees had attempted to cross the border without necessary documents.
"Two people carrying no documents are being checked at the Tamarasheni-Kekhvi sector," Shota Khizanishvili said. "It is not a detention, but a regular identity check of individuals without documents."
Irina Gagloyeva, head of the unrecognized South Ossetian government's information and press committee, said: "Police in Georgia have arrested Russian journalists for the first time since the conflict started, but the Russian journalists have been treated well."
She also said that despite ongoing tensions over the region's water shortage and recent skirmishes, the overall situation was stable and calm.
The situation in the conflict zone recently deteriorated over damaged water pipelines leading to South Ossetia, which left 70 villages and 44,000 hectares of farmland without water. Gunfire was exchanged when Georgia started building a road in the area without consulting local authorities. Russian peacekeepers halted the construction and urged consultations between the two sides.
