This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/europe/5398384.stm

The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 5 Version 6
Georgia releases Russian 'spies' Georgia releases Russian 'spies'
(about 1 hour later)
Georgia has handed over four Russian military officers charged with spying to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe. Four Russian military officers arrested as spies in Georgia in the worst row between the countries in years have been handed over to mediators.
The president said the move was a goodwill gesture to democratic allies, not a response to Russian pressure. The head of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Karel De Gucht, said the four men would be flown on to Russia immediately.
Last week's arrest of the four officers triggered a furious political row between Moscow and Tbilisi. Georgia's president said the transfer was not a response to Russian pressure.
Hours before the men's release, Russia said it was suspending transport and postal links with the state. As the men were being released, Moscow imposed economic sanctions, suspending transport and crucial postal links.
[The] message... to our great neighbour Russia is enough is enough Mikhail SaakashviliGeorgian president href="/1/hi/world/europe/5398824.stm" class="">Row worries press The BBC's Emma Simpson in Moscow says it is a dramatic move - but it is not clear if the decision was taken before the planned handover of the officers was announced. BBC regional analyst Steven Eke says the impact of the new measures is likely to be severe as thousands of Georgian guest workers will effectively be stranded in Russia, unable to send home the earnings so many of their families depend on.
Moscow had already recalled its ambassador and evacuated some of its staff in Georgia in what is being described as Russia's worst crisis in relations with its neighbour in more than a decade. It is unclear if the sanctions decision was taken before the handover of the officers, who were arrested last week, was announced.
Russia had exerted strong pressure on Georgia to release the men, but Georgia had refused to relent until now, the BBC's Matthew Collin reports from Georgia. 'You are deported'
'Enough' The officers were handed over to Mr De Gucht in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, in a ceremony broadcast live on Georgian television.
The officers were handed over to Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht, who holds the rotating chairmanship of the OSCE. The message to our great neighbour Russia is: 'Enough is enough' Mikhail SaakashviliGeorgian president href="/1/hi/world/europe/5393106.stm" class="">Q&A: Russian-Georgian ties href="/1/hi/world/europe/5398824.stm" class="">Row worries press
Announcing the move, President Mikhail Saakashvili said he wanted good relations with Russia, but Georgia could no longer be treated as a second-class country. An unnamed official was shown reading out a statement telling them they were "accused of the crime of espionage against Georgia", were "being deported from Georgia" and were "as of now forbidden to enter Georgian territory".
Russia had been using intimidation and blackmail, he said, and he repeated his allegation that there was a Russian spy ring operating in Georgia. Speaking to AFP news agency, Mr De Gucht confirmed that the officers would be flown to Russia later on Monday, adding that he wished to have a private conversation with them first.
"[The] message... to our great neighbour Russia is enough is enough," he said. He also called for the restoration of transport and money transfer links.
"We want to have dialogue but we cannot be treated as a second-rate back yard of some kind of re-emerging, in the minds of some politicians, of some kind of re-emerging empire." Announcing the officers' transfer, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said he wanted good relations with Russia, but Georgia could no longer be treated as a "the second-class backyard of... some kind of re-emerging empire".
Russia had been using intimidation and blackmail, he said, and he repeated his allegation that a Russian spy ring had been operating in Georgia.
"The message to our great neighbour Russia is: 'Enough is enough,'" he said.
Tense relationsTense relations
On Friday, the four Russian officers had been charged with spying and were ordered to be held for two months pending investigations. On Friday, the four Russian officers were charged with spying and were ordered to be held for two months pending investigations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Georgia of "state terrorism" over the arrests, and of trying to provoke Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin responded by accusing Georgia of "state terrorism" and trying to provoke Moscow, which still has military bases in Georgia from Soviet times when it was part of the USSR.
Relations between Moscow and Tbilisi have deteriorated in recent weeks since Georgia and the Western military alliance Nato agreed to hold talks on closer relations, correspondents say. Relations between Moscow and Tbilisi deteriorated sharply after Georgia and Nato agreed to hold talks on closer relations, correspondents say.
Georgia has also accused Russia of actively trying to undermine its government by backing separatists in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.Georgia has also accused Russia of actively trying to undermine its government by backing separatists in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Relations between the two nations have been increasingly tense since Mr Saakashvili was elected president in 2004, pledging to take the Caucasian nation out of Russia's orbit and join Nato and the European Union. Moscow earlier recalled its ambassador and evacuated some of its staff in Georgia.
Our regional analyst notes that Georgia is already affected by a Russian ban on its top three agricultural exports - wine, mineral water and mandarin oranges.
But Mr Saakashvili, he adds, will also be aware that Russia has another, much more powerful economic weapon - energy supplies.
Georgia remains totally dependent on supplies of Russian gas and there are already warnings that heat and light could disappear from parts of Georgia unless the diplomatic crisis is resolved quickly.