Russian Troop Buildup Called a 'Provocation'

TBILISI, Georgia — Russia's addition of troops in Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia was criticized as a "provocation" by the Georgian president's special envoy yesterday.

The comments by a former foreign minister, Davit Bakradze, are the latest Georgian objections to the Russian buildup. President Saakashvili said this week Russia is trying to "drag" Abkhazia into a confrontation with the rest of Georgia.

"This was done without Georgia's consent," Mr. Bakradze told reporters in the capital Tbilisi. "Russia should have consulted member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States and international organizations when increasing peacekeeping forces. Therefore this is an act of aggression."

Mr. Saakashvili accuses Russia of backing separatist regimes in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, where Russian peacekeepers are stationed and where most citizens hold Russian passports. He has pledged to bring both regions, which broke away from Georgia during wars in the 1990s, back under the control of the government in Tbilisi.

Russia's Defense Ministry this week sent more peacekeeping forces and added 15 observation posts on the Abkhaz border with the rest of Georgia in response to what it called "provocative actions" by Georgian forces. Mr. Bakradze said Russia now has as many as 3,000 peacekeepers in Abkhazia under the CIS mandate.