Russia and Georgia are already squaring off over Georgia's breakaway Abkhazia region - with Russia supporting the would-be Abkhaz government, and Georgia wanting to bring the territory back under its control. Things briefly got very tense on Thursday when the chief of Russia's air force agreed to a statement made by an Abkhaz lawmaker, who wanted Russia to sign a military treaty with the region and build permanent bases there. Col.-Gen. Alexander Zelin was quoted as saying that he thought this would improve Russia's air-defense capabilities.
This came as a surprise to Gen. Yuri Baluyevsky, the chief of Russia's armed forces (and Col.-Gen. Zelin's boss). He quickly said that he was aware of no such plan, reducing tensions between the two countries - at least for now.
The latest escalation of Russia and Georgia's war of words came a few weeks ago when Russia sent additional peacekeepers to Abkhazia in response to a build-up of Georgian troops on the border. Relations between Russia and Georgia have been sour for the past few years as Georgia actively courts the West, hoping to join both NATO and the EU.
The situation in Abkhazia even made it into the congratulatory phone call placed by President Bush to the newly installed President Dmitri Medvedev. Bush expressed his concern over the conflict between Georgia and Russia and urged Medvedev to work to reduce tensions in the region.
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