GEORGIA/RUSSIA: Georgia released four Russian army officers arrested for spying yesterday after Moscow cut all air, rail and road links to the country in a rapidly escalating crisis.
The handover came after the intervention of US president George Bush, who spoke by phone with his Georgian counterpart, Mikhail Saakashvili.
The US, Georgia's main ally, reportedly urged Tblisi to climb down in a confrontation with Russia that has seen both states put their armed forces on high alert.
The four men, arrested and put on trial last week on charges of espionage, were handed over to officials of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europeand flown to Moscow.
Hours earlier, Russia had cut road and rail links to its southern neighbour, suspended postal services and expelled several dozen Georgian workers.
Moscow announced that Russian air space would be closed to Georgian aircraft from midnight, and it is unclear if the order will now be rescinded.
Mr Saakashvili insisted the handover was not a sign of bowing to Russian pressure. "The message to our great neighbour Russia is: 'Enough is enough'," he said. He also accused Moscow of treating Georgia as "the second-class backyard of . . . some kind of re-emerging empire".
On Sunday Russian president Vladimir Putin accused Georgia of "state terrorism with hostage-taking" and said its tactics were those of Beria, the former secret service of Stalin. Mr Putin also accused unnamed "foreign sponsors" of engineering the crisis, a comment thought to refer to the US.
President Bush phoned Mr Putin after his discussion with Mr Saakashvili but no details of the discussion were released.
While the immediate crisis appears to have been averted, tension remains high between the two countries. Moscow is furious with Georgia for turning away from Russia, its traditional ally, in favour of the United States, which is backing its bid to join Nato.
Over the weekend Georgian security forces killed a gunman they said opened fire on them from Abkhazia, one of two pro-Moscow enclaves in northern Georgia.
The crisis began with the arrest of the four officers last Wednesday, triggering a war of words between Moscow and Tblisi. Russia's defence minister, Sergei Ivanov, accused the Georgians of "banditry" and Mr Saakashvili branded Moscow's reaction "hysterical".
Moscow will be pleased that its determined stance has seen Georgia back down, but it is unlikely to warm the chill relations between the Kremlin and Washington.