UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — Russia on Tuesday accused Georgia of whipping up tensions with its separatist foes and of trying to derail peace negotiations over the conflicts in breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
"We expressed our deep concern about the latest action of the Georgian side," Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin told reporters after raising the issue during a closed-door meeting of the 15-member Security Council.
He referred to a number of explosions which the Abkhaz side, according to him, characterized as "terrorist" acts and noted that there were "reasons to believe they are of Georgian origin."
He also cited shelling in South Ossetia. Tensions soared in the area last week after separatists said two people were killed by intense shelling from Georgia and threatened to retaliate with heavy weapons.
On Tuesday separatists briefly detained four Georgian servicemen, prompting an angry reaction from the Georgian government in Tbilisi.
"It looks like a concerted effort by the Georgian side to whip up tensions in the area, to derail the current negotiations and peace format and to dash any hope for political progress," Churkin said.
Expressing "deep concern" about the rising tensions, he said he introduced a draft resolution in the Security Council Tuesday, urging Georgia and its separatist foes to show restraint, abide by council resolutions and immediately sign an agreement on the non-use of force.
The text, which was to be reviewed by experts Wednesday, also urges the Georgian side to "take urgent steps to ensure that the situation in the Upper Kodori valley is brought in line with" the 1994 Moscow agreement on a ceasefire and a separation of forces and that "no troops unauthorized by this agreement (be) present in that area."
It also urges both sides, in particular Tbilisi, "to consider and address seriously each other's legitimate security concerns, to refrain from any acts of violence or provocation and to maintain the security zone and the restricted weapons zone free of any unauthorized military activities."
South Ossetia broke away from the rest of Georgia in the early 1990s in a conflict that killed several thousand people.
Abkhazia, a sliver of land between the Black Sea and the Caucasus mountains, broke away from Georgia after fierce fighting in 1992-93 and now has de facto independence. The Kodori valley is the only part of Abkhazia still under Tbilisi's control.
Russia has further boosted ties with the separatists despite objections from Georgia.
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