MOSCOW (AFP) — Russia's defence ministry on Saturday accused Georgia of harbouring plans to take back the separatist province of Abkhazia by force that could trigger a war, Interfax news agency reported.
"Such plans thought up by Tbilisi cannot be seen as anything other than the latest step aimed at escalating tensions in the region, which could turn the conflict into a new war," Interfax quoted a ministry spokesman as saying.
The leader of the separatists in Abkhazia, Sergei Bagapsh, earlier on Saturday said he had been informed of aborted plans for a major military operation by Georgian forces in April or May of this year, Interfax said.
The Russian defence ministry spokesman said the announcement raised "concern," particularly as it allegedly contains detained plans to block the bases of Russian peacekeeping troops operating in the region.
The Russian and Georgian presidents met on Saturday in Kazakhstan during celebrations to mark Astana's 10th anniversary as a capital, with Dmitry Medvedev warning against fomenting tension in the region, according to a Kremlin press service official there.
The official said that Medvedev had spoken with Mikheil Saakashvili and "remarked that it was unacceptable to foment tensions in the region" and "stressed the necessity for a process of negotiations with all the parties involved."
Abkhazia has enjoyed de facto independence since breaking away in a conflict following the collapse of the Soviet Union that killed several thousand people and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.
Tensions have risen since Russia earlier this year moved to bolster ties with Abkhazia, whose independence is not recognised by any country. Abkhazia does however have strong diplomatic and economic support from Russia.
A UN mission was due in Tbilisi this weekend for talks on resolving the increasingly volatile stand-off. The delegation will also meet with separatist leaders in Abkhazia before reporting back to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
Abkhazia has enjoyed de facto independence since breaking away in a conflict following the collapse of the Soviet Union that killed several thousand people and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.
Tensions also soared in Georgia's rebel region of South Ossetia on Friday after separatists said two people were killed by intense shelling and threatened to retaliate with heavy weapons.
Russia accused Tbilisi of carrying out an "act of aggression" against South Ossetia, while the European Union and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) expressed concern over the fighting -- the heaviest in the volatile region so far this year.
Tbilisi regularly accuses Russia of seeking to annex South Ossetia and Abkhazia and derail its efforts to join the NATO military alliance. Russia in turn accuses Georgia of preparing to take back the breakaway regions by force.
The state of the so-called "frozen conflict" between Georgia and Russia over the two breakaway provinces was one of the key reasons NATO did not agree to admit Georgia at its summit in Bucharest earlier this year.
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