Georgia said today it would hand over four Russian army officers arrested on spying charges to European mediators in a decision that will help defuse a crisis with Russia.
"Today there will be a ceremony of handing over the arrested Russian officers to the OSCE [Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe] chairman-in-office," said a spokesman for President Mikhail Saakashvili.
The Russian officers were arrested last Wednesday, leading to a friction between Moscow and Tbilisi, including a sharp verbal attack by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The OSCE chairman-in-office, Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht, is scheduled to arrive in the Georgian capital at around 1pm Irish time for talks with Mr Saakashvili.
The spokesman said the four would be handed over in a formal ceremony after these talks.
Earlier, Mr Saakashvili said Moscow was unlikely to use force to free the four officers whom Tbilisi said worked for Russia's GRU military intelligence and had been building a spy network.
Mr Putin had accused Georgia of "state terrorism with hostage-taking" by arresting the Russian army officers last week and charging them with spying.