Xinhua

The United States urged Russia on Friday to show restraint over its tension with neighboring Georgia and reaffirmed its support for the pro-Western Georgia.

"We would urge restraint on the part of the Russian government and urge them to consider the effects of their actions on the overall stability of the region," State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said at a briefing.

"We continue to fully and completely support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia," Casey said.

Casey said the United States wants to see Georgia and Russia have good neighborly relations, "and we certainly would urge the Russian government to exercise caution in any activities that it is taking because we don't think that some of the things that we have seen lead to increased stability or increased security, not only for Georgia, but for Russia as well."

Georgia has warned Russia not to increase its peacekeeping force in the conflict zones, otherwise it would view the move as an aggression.

Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday that "due to the heightening of tensions in the zone of the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict, the Russian peacekeepers command put up 15 additional observation posts."

The collective peacekeeping force, which is made up of Russian servicemen, was deployed in the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict zone in 1994. The combined peacekeeping force of Georgia, Russia and North Ossetia was brought to the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone in 1992 in line with Georgian-Russian accords.

All news from 3 May 2008:

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