MOSCOW, April 29 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Defense Ministry issued a stern warning to Georgia on Tuesday over its actions in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and pledged to deploy more Russian peacekeepers in the area.
The ministry said that any violence against Russians in the breakaway Georgian republics would be met with tough reprisals from Moscow.
"Any attempts by Georgia to use force to resolve the conflicts, or to employ violent measures against Russian peacekeepers or Russian citizens living in Abkhazia and South Ossetia will encounter an appropriate and tough response," the ministry said in a statement.
The statement also said Georgian aggression had forced Russia to take steps to increase peacekeeping numbers in the conflict zones, saying that, "the strengthening by Georgia of its forces in the immediate proximity to the conflict zones, threats of military force and... provocations on the part of Georgian authorities prevent Russian servicemen from performing their peacekeeping tasks."
Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that Georgia was preparing to launch a military operation against Abkhazia, saying that Tbilisi was massing troops, weaponry, ammunition, food and supplies in the upper Kodori region, on the border with Abkhazia.
"The number of troops and police exceeds 1,500... The composition of the contingent indicates that Georgia is preparing to launch a military operation against Abkhazia," the statement said.
Meanwhile, Georgia denounced Russia's move as aggression and urged the international community to prevent an escalation of tension in the region, Prime Minister Vladimir Gurgenidze said.
"We condemn Russia's decision to increase the number of peacekeepers in the conflict zones as an extremely irresponsible move, especially against the background of Russia's latest statements about Abkhazia and South Ossetia... We will consider every soldier and every technical unit arriving in the conflict zone as... a potential aggressor," Gurgenidze said.
"We call on our partners to denounce the Russian decision and take every possible measure to prevent an increase in the contingent, which will force an escalation of tension in the region," the Georgian PM said.
Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke away from Georgia in 1991 following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Georgia is looking to regain control over the two republics.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called earlier this month for closer ties with the breakaway republics. Putin's statement provoked an angry response from Tbilisi, which accused Russia of attempting to annex the two republics.
Georgia also claims that on April 20 a Russian MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter from the Gudauta military base in Abkhazia, where Russian peacekeepers have been stationed since the end of a bloody conflict in the early 1990s, shot down a Georgian drone, a claim Russia has denied.
Russia said video footage of the alleged attack broadcast by Georgia was faked.
A NATO HQ source, who wished to remain anonymous, said on Tuesday that NATO was "very concerned" about statements made by Russia pledging to protect Russian passport holders in Abkhazia.
However, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Russia's measures to support the two breakaway regions' populations were not aimed at establishing control over the republics.
"It is evident that Russia's steps are aimed at ensuring the fundamental rights of residents of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and not at establishing any control over the territories of the unrecognized republics," the ministry said on its website.
Russia's envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, said the Russia-NATO Council would discuss on Wednesday the situation around Abkhazia and South Ossetia. He also called Georgian footage of the drone incident "cartoons."
