Three days before the first anniversary of Russia’s war with Georgia, both camps have accused the other of breaching the terms of a ceasefire agreement and raising the prospect of a new conflict. In an interview with FRANCE 24’s regional correspondent Romain Goguelin, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili spoke of a “worrying situation” and denied he was planning to resume hostilities.

‘Neither the will, nor the means to attack Russia’

“Georgia has neither the will, nor the means to attack Russia,” the Georgian president said. “It would be complete suicide”.

Russia on Tuesday announced it had raised the “battle-readiness” of its troops stationed in South Ossetia, one of two provinces that broke away from Georgia following last year’s conflict. Moscow has warned the government in Tbilisi that it would use force to defend the territory if necessary. It also accused Ukraine and the United States of seeking to re-arm Georgian forces, which were severely battered last summer.

"The situation is very worrying and Georgian provocations ahead of the anniversary of last year's war are not halting," a spokesperson for Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

‘Russia’s mission is not over’

Russian troops in South Ossetia and in the other breakaway province of Abkhazia still number well above 7,000. Mikheil Saakashvili maintains that Moscow’s aim is to overthrow him. “Russia has made it abundantly clear that its mission to get rid of the government here in Tbilisi is not over,” he said.

The Georgian president also claimed that Russia had amassed 120,000 soldiers along its border with Georgia. The aim, he says, is to test Western countries’ ability to react.

The flare in tensions is eerily reminiscent of the provocations that preceded last year’s war. Overnight on August 7, 2008, Georgia launched an offensive to recover control of South Ossetia. Russia soon responded with a major assault on Georgian territory, later capping five days of heavy fighting with the formal recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as separate states under its protection.