Russian military jets flew over the breakaway Georgian province of South Ossetia this week in order to prevent imminent "bloodshed," the Russian foreign ministry said Thursday
"The need arose to take urgent and effective measures to prevent bloodshed and to keep the situation peaceful," the ministry said in a statement.
"To determine the circumstances, Russian air force planes made a short flight over the territory of South Ossetia."
The statement marked an unusual admission from Russia that it had sent military aircraft over a separatist region in Georgia. Past Georgian accusations of Russian military overflights have been denied by Moscow.
"As subsequent events showed, this step cooled hotheads in Tbilisi and prevented the situation from evolving through use of force, which had become highly likely," the Russian statement said.
Russia said it had received information indicating that Georgian troops were preparing a military operation in South Ossetia to free four Georgian soldiers arrested Tuesday by authorities in the breakaway province.
The statement from Moscow was issued a day after Russia and Georgia traded accusations about military flights over South Ossetia, one of two separatist provinces in Georgia.
On Wednesday, a spokesman for Russian peacekeepers in the region accused Georgia of flying two fighter jets over South Ossetia the previous day.
Georgia then quickly retorted that the military planes were in fact Russian and that there were four of them.
A flight ban has been in place in South Ossetia for years as part of ceasefire arrangements in the conflict zone.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice paid a visit Wednesday and Thursday to Tbilisi, where she reiterated Washington's support for the country's pro-Western leader and called for an end to violence in Georgia's separatist regions.
Military Overflight In Georgia Stopped 'Bloodshed': Russia
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks