MOSCOW Georgia and Russia have come close to war in recent days and the threat of armed conflict remains, Mikhail Saakashvili, the Georgian President, told Russian journalists.

“I think that several days ago we were close [to war with Russia] and this threat remains,” the RIA Novosti and ITAR-Tass news agencies quoted Mr Saakashvili as saying. He also gave warning of the consequences for neighbouring southern Russia, which includes Chechnya and North Ossetia, if war broke out. Georgia has accused Moscow of attempting to annex its breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia to make its attempt to join Nato more difficult. Tensions soared when Russia announced an increase in its peacekeeping troops in Abkhazia. The Abkhazian leadership said yesterday that it had shot down another Georgian unmanned spy plane, the latest in a series of such claims. Georgia denied the claim.

A Kremlin official said it was “difficult to believe” that Mr Saakashvili had said the countries were close to war. (AFP)

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