Russia has suspended transport and communication links with Georgia today as the row over an alleged spying ring worsened, despite Georgian attempts to defuse the crisis.

Georgia this afternoon released four Russian military officers charged with espionage over to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

The detention of the officers in Tbilisi has infuriated Moscow, which responded by recalling its Ambassador, evacuating scores of diplomats and their families in an emergency airlift and blocking the issue of any new visas for Georgians. Russian troops in Georgia have also been put on high alert.

Today, in further retaliation, the Russian transport and communication ministries said that all air, road, rail, sea and postal links would be suspended, despite Georgia’s announcement that the Russian officers would be released imminently. Russian carrier Aeroflot said it would stop all flights to Georgia from tomorrow.

Russia had previously threatened to impose economic sanctions against Georgia if it did not free the four men. Cutting off transport and communication links could lead to severe hardship in the small mountainous republic, which depends heavily on Russia for trade, energy and power.

Relations between Russia and Georgia have reached their worst in years after the arrest of the soldiers, who Georgian authorities claim were caught on video conspiring with Georgian citizens, exchanging money and discussing military installations, a charge dismissed by Moscow.

The four appeared in court on Friday, where they were formally charged with spying and ordered to be detained for a further two months, a move which was today replaced by the decision to hand over the men to the OSCE instead.

The men were released this afternoon to the transatlantic security body after talks between Mikhail Saakashvili, the Georgian President, and Karel De Gucht, Belgian Foreign Minister and current chairman of the OSCE.

A Georgian official read a statement to each of the four officers, informing them they were being expelled from the country on suspicion of espionage and would not be permitted to return. Each was then seated in a separate OSCE vehicle and driven away.

"We just wanted to show that we defend our national interests and that Russia like any other country should respect these interests," said Georgy Arveladze, Georgian presidential chief-of-staff. "It was not our goal to punish these people."

A spokesman for the OSCE in Vienna said the four would then be taken to the airport from where they would board a Russian plane home.

Mr De Gucht called for Russia to withdraw the transport and communications sanctions. "It’s very important that air traffic should be restored and land borders opened and normal transactions should again be possible between Russia and Georgia," he said.

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