Nato defence ministers were drawn into a growing spy row between Russia and Georgia today, appealing for both countries to resolve the crisis peacefully, as Moscow began withdrawing diplomats from its Tbilisi embassy.
Four Russian army intelligence officers appeared in court in the Georgian capital today. The authorities have said they have video footage showing the officers conspiring with Georgian citizens, exchanging money and discussing military installations.
The soldiers have also been linked to a mine explosion in February 2005, which killed three police officers in the town of Gori. The court in Tbilisi has also extended the custody of ten Georgian citizens, who are suspected of co-operating with the Russian military intelligence.
Georgian police continued to surround Russian army headquarters, renewing demands for the handover of a fifth officer accused of spying on Georgian military installations. However, Russia was defiant in its refusal to hand him over.
Moscow has already heavily criticised the former Soviet state for the arrests, accusing it of deliberately provoking Russia and recalling its ambassador to Tbilisi. Today officials brought in a cargo plane to pull out several hundred Russian personnel and their families based Georgia.
"More than 100 people will leave today," Vyacheslav Kovalenko, the ambassador, told journalists in the Georgian capital. He said that a second plane was scheduled to arrive from Moscow.
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Nato’s Secretary General, appealed to both countries to defuse the growing crisis, calling for "both sides to moderate and de-escalate the situation".
Donald Rumsfeld, the US Defence Secretary, said that the talks had focused on finding a peaceful way to ease the tension and bring calm.
President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia angrily denied that Russian personnel were in any danger. "I don’t understand why this hysteria is being created," he said.
"There are no kinds of threats to the security of Russian families in Georgia as our country acts strictly in accordance with international agreements."
The arrests were aimed "at the maintenance of Georgian law," he said. "Nothing illegal has happened. We are building democracy and protecting our statehood. That’s how all democratic countries act."
Relations with Russia, Georgia’s old Soviet master, have worsened dramatically since the US-educated Mr Saakashvili came to power in the 2003 Rose Revolution, promising to free his country from Russian influence and develop relations with the West. His pursuit of Nato membership particularly irks Russia.
Last week, after months of hesitation, Nato said it was starting "intensified dialogue" with Georgia over the country’s possible entry into the alliance, an outcome which further angered Moscow.
Georgia, in turn, has accused Moscow of backing separatists in its troubled, pro-Russian provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, in an attempt to undermine the Government – an allegation which Russia denies.
Only last Friday, Mr Saakashvili accused Moscow from the rostrum of the UN of trying to annex the breakaway provinces.
In a further development, the Russian Defence Minister today accused eastern European members of Nato of illicitly supplying Soviet-made arms to Georgia, moments after holding tense talks with Nato defence ministers.
"Some members of Nato - shall we call them the younger generation? - are supplying Georgia with arms and ammunition of Soviet production," Sergei Ivanov told reporters after the talks in Slovenia.
He accused the nations, which he did not name, of breaching the strict understanding that Soviet arms were exported to the region only as long as they did not get into the hands of third parties.
Mr Ivanov renewed his attack Georgia, saying that the arrest of the Russian soldiers was an attempt to force his country’s troops out of the country so that the Georgian Government could pursue a "military solution" in regards to its conflicts with the two pro-Russian breakaway provinces.
Vitaly Churkin, the Russian envoy to the UN, called for the Security Council action to restrain Georgia, which he accused of "serious provocations".
Mr Churkin said he had circulated a draft statement for possible adoption by the Security Council expressing "deep concern" over Georgia’s actions and demanding a withdrawal of Georgian troops from a gorge overlooking the separatist province of Abkhazia.
Aside from recalling its ambassador, Moscow has advised Russian nationals against travel to Georgia and has indefinitely suspended the issue of visas to Georgian citizens for travel to Russia. An estimated one million Georgians work in Russia and send money back home.
The small mountainous country of 5 million people has suffered serious economic hardship, aggravated by civil war, since gaining independence from Moscow, including power cuts, shortages and unemployment. It also depends on Russia for gas supplies, giving Moscow another potential lever over its poorer neighbour.
Tony Halpin, Moscow correspondent for The Times, said that the latest crisis was closely related to tensions over the two separatist provinces in Georgia.
"This is about the frozen politics over Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which have made no bones about the fact they want to join Russia," he said. But President Saakashvili has made it perfectly clear since coming into power that his aim is to unify Georgia.
"Russia suspects that Georgia is using the spying scandal as an opportunity to use military to bring the two regions under its control. And Georgia is openly accusing Russia of backing the separatists."
He added that the sharp words from Russian officials and the move to evacuate Russians from the smaller nation provided ample opportunity to stir feeling amongst the domestic population.
"All the images on TV are showing Russian people and families packing their bags and quickly leaving, which feeds into the impression that the attitude to Russians in Georgia is very hostile," he said.
President Vladimir Putin, away in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, has so far not commented publicly on the crisis.
