MOSCOW, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Russian foreign ministry
accused Georgia Friday of "an open act of aggression" for launching mortar
attacks against Ossetia.
The Russian-backed separatist administration said, Georgian forces fired at their capital, Tskhinvali, and nearby villages. It said the large-scale attack killed two people and injured 10.
The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement,
"Tbilisi's actions represented an overt act of aggression against South Ossetia,
which is an internationally recognized party to the conflict resolution
process."
The statement said "the recent military incidents
will lead to a sharp escalation in the armed confrontation in the conflict
zone."
"Any further delays in resuming the negotiations
process could lead to the most tragic consequences," it warned.
The Georgian side said reportedly that its forces
returned fire only after South Ossetian rebels had attacked Georgian-controlled
villages in the region.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov demanded
Friday that Tbilisi sign a non-aggression pledge on South Ossetia.
Russian news agencies quoted the head of Russia's
peacekeeping troops in the region as saying that more soldiers could be deployed
there if the situation worsened.
Georgia's Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke from
central rule during wars in the 1990s after the collapse of the former Soviet
Union. But their self-proclaimed independence is not recognized
internationally.
MOSCOW, July 4 (Xinhua) -- The Russian foreign minister said Russia is concerned over the escalation of violence in Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia and urged Georgia to sign a ceasefire deal with its breakaway regions, the RIA Novosti news agency reported Friday. Full story
