Russia Sends More Troops to Georgia

Georgia accused Russia of fanning conflict on Tuesday after Moscow sent extra peacekeeping troops to Georgia's breakaway Abkhazia region to counter what it called a military build-up by Tbilisi.

The Russian move marked a new escalation in a crisis between the two ex-Soviet neighbors that has alarmed Georgia's allies in the West, who see the ex-Soviet state as a future NATO ally and a vital transit route for energy supplies. The move angered Tbilisi, which accuses the Russian force there of siding with the separatists.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said Russia's move had created a dangerous situation. "It is altogether obvious that this is part of a fast and worrying escalation of Russian measures for controlling territories," Bildt wrote on his blog. [More]