Tensions rise as Georgia accuses the Russians of land grab

Published on Monday 3 August 2009 22:04

GEORGIA has accused Russia of trying to take more territory outside the breakaway province of South Ossetia.

As tensions rise ahead of the first anniversary of the Russian-Georgian war last summer, Georgia said yesterday that Russian troops entered the village of Kveshi near South Ossetia on Sunday and erected posts, in an attempt to mark a new border.

Georgia said the posts, several hundred yards outside the boundary with South Ossetia, were removed yesterday.

Russia and South Ossetia, which together patrol the region's de facto border with Georgia, claimed no forces had entered Kveshi, and that the posts – a temporary roadblock – had been erected within South Ossetian territory.

The situation has become increasingly tense as the first anniversary of the war approaches on 7 August, with Georgia and Russia each claiming provocation by the other.

Last August's war began when Georgia launched an offensive to regain control over Moscow-backed South Ossetia. Russia sent in thousands of troops, routing the Georgian military and driving deep into Georgia. A truce negotiated by the EU ended five days of fighting.

In a statement, the Georgian foreign ministry said: "It's very alarming that as the first anniversary of the Russian aggression against Georgia comes close, Russia and its puppets are deliberately inciting tensions and behave defiantly."

Irina Gagloyeva, a South Ossetian government spokeswoman, said the border move was legitimate, and rejected claims of land grabbing.

"We don't need a single centimetre of their soil," she said.