Georgia on Tuesday accused Moscow of raising tensions and threatening security in the Black Sea region by deploying Russian patrol ships off the coast of its rebel Abkhazia enclave.
The deployment "will inevitably escalate tensions and pose a threat to the security of the countries of the region," Georgia's foreign ministry said in a statement.
"The Kremlin is once again making it clear that it is not going to comply with its international obligations and that Moscow does not feel bound by the norms and principles of international law," the ministry said.
Russian media reported Monday that Russia's coast guard had begun patrolling waters off Abkhazia amid increasing tensions over Black Sea shipping.
The RIA Novosti news agency reported that the Novorossiisk patrol boat had arrived in the region and that a total of 10 patrol boats would operate from the Abkhaz port of Ochamchira.
Georgia's efforts to enforce a naval blockade on Abkhazia, which Moscow recognised as an independent state after its war with Georgia last year, have infuriated the region's separatist leadership.
Abkhaz authorities threatened to destroy any Georgian ship violating the region's de-facto sea borders after Georgia seized a number of vessels in recent months.
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