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The Russian ambassador to Azerbaijan Vasiliy Istratov has accused Georgia of failing to pursue a peaceful solution to the conflict in its war-ravaged republic of South Ossetia.
"Georgia’s choosing the military option instead of a peaceful solution to solve the S. Ossetia problem is an erroneous step," he told a Baku-based TV channel on Friday.
Istratov said Moscow hoped the stand-off would be resolved soon through negotiations with the aid of the international community.
Russian tanks and military vehicles reportedly entered South Ossetia on Friday and Russian planes attacked a Georgian military base after Georgian forces bombarded and conducted air raids on the capital of the breakaway province, Tskhinvali, reportedly killing 15 civilians, and warned of "war" if Russia intervened in the rebel region, which gets strong backing from Moscow.
"We are following the unfolding developments in South Ossetia with a great deal of anxiety," the ambassador said. "We are extremely worried about the deaths of innocent people. The fact that Russians are among the dead could not but perturb Moscow."
Istratov said what he called Georgia’s fallacious step aimed to disrupt overall stability in the region and the latest developments could exacerbate regional conflicts.
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said most of South Ossetia has been taken over. According to the latest reports, Georgian forces have taken control over the republic’s Znaursk region.
Russia and Georgia have swapped strongly-worded accusations as heavy clashes erupted in South Ossetia. Moscow had threatened retaliation after Russian forces in Tskhinvali were reported killed in a skirmish. Russian planes pounded Georgian positions in S. Ossetia, wounding five Georgian soldiers, local media reported.
Georgia’s Rustavi-2 TV channel said Russia was using Su-24 bombers and Su-27 fighter jets and that one of the planes had been shot down.
Regnum news agency reported that the Russian air force was in full control of Tskhinvali’s air space.
"Additional forces have been deployed in the region to assist peacekeepers. This will help to stop the bloodshed," the Russian Defense Ministry said.
"The needed assistance will be provided to the Russian peacekeepers currently in S. Ossetia, Russian citizens and residents of the unrecognized republic. We will not allow the killings of our countrymen and peacekeepers," it said.
The Georgian government termed its military campaign as "restoration of the constitutional order". Tbilisi said it had to take commmensurate action to protect ethnic Georgians in S. Ossetia.
President Saakashvili has ordered a mass mobilisation. Early on Friday, Georgian reserve servicemen had gathered at a stadium in the capital. Over 100,000 Georgians aged between 25 and 45 have undergone military training so far, local media reports said.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said earlier his country could not allow the deaths of its citizens to go unpunished. "The guilty parties will receive the punishment they deserve," he said.
Former Russian president and now its influential prime minister, Vladimir Putin, condemned Georgia's "aggressive actions" and warned of Moscow’s retaliation.
"They have in effect begun hostilities using tanks and artillery," Putin said in Beijing. "It is sad, but this will provoke retaliatory measures."
Putin said he had discussed the crisis with Chinese leaders and with US President George Bush. "Everybody agrees -- nobody wants to see a war."
It is indicative that at a time deadly fighting erupted in S. Ossetia that also killed Russian soldiers, the premier headed to China to attend the Olympics opening ceremony
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigori Karasin, who has taken over for Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov while the latter is on leave, said he saw no military settlement to the S. Ossetia conflict and Tbilisi "should accept this axiom".
The UN Security Council has launched a special meeting called by Russia to discuss the S. Ossetia unrest. The UN expressed concern over the fighting but failed to agree on a Russian statement urging Georgia and the rebels to halt the fighting.
Head of the Russian delegation, Vitali Churkin, sought immediate UN intereference in the Georgian region and urged Tbilisi to explore "civil ways" of resolving the dispute.
"An influential body like the UN cannot remain indiferent to the developments taking place in a region where the fates of thousands of people are being decided," Churkin said.
The United States called for "an immediate end to the violence," adding to calls from the European Union and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) for a ceasefire in S. Ossetia.
Matthew Bryza, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, told Rustavi-2 that the only thing that could be done at this point was calling on the sides to cease fire. "We understand that the Georgian government has to protect its people, but the main thing in this situation is to stop the fire."
South Ossetia broke from Georgia in the early 1990s and has since been a constant source of friction between Georgia and Russia. Georgia's pro-Western government accuses Moscow of seeking to annex the two regions and derail its efforts to join the transatlantic NATO alliance, which Russia vehemently opposes.
The Azerbaijani government has also expressed its position on the Georgian- Ossetian conflict.
"Georgia has a full right to restore its territorial integrity and that’s what it is addressing now," the Foreign Ministry spokesman Khazar Ibrahim said.
He made it clear that Azerbaijan backs the neighboring South Caucasus republic’s integrity and believes the conflict must be resolved strictly within this framework. Ibrahim added that as a state also affected by a conflict, Azerbaijan reserves the right to take this step.*