Russian President Vladimir Putin said today Georgia was dragging conflicts with its breakaway regions towards bloodshed, rebuffing charges Russia was to blame for a row with its ex-Soviet neighbour.
"It is moving in the direction of bloodshed because the Georgian leadership is seeking to restore its control through military means and they are quite open about that," Mr Putin told a news conference in Finland after dinner with EU leaders.
Russia has slapped economic sanctions on Georgia and deported hundreds of Georgians living on its soil, prompting concerns from some Western countries that it was bullying its smaller, pro-Western neighbour.
Mr Putin said Moscow did not start the dispute. He blamed a Georgian military build-up around the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which rebelled against Tbilisi's control in the 1990s.
Tbilisi says it wants to restore control peacefully over the regions, which are backed by Moscow.
"The issue does not lie in the relationship between Russia and Georgia. The issue is between Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. We have great concern at the way the situation is developing," he said.
Mr Putin told reporters Moscow was committed to trying to calm tensions between Georgia and its breakaway regions and to mend ties with Tbilisi.
But he said Georgia had to take the first step by tackling its own internal conflicts.
"As soon as we have a different relationship between Georgian, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the Russian-Georgian relationship will also be normalised."
"What we need is patience. We need to cautiously try to restore trust ... This is what we are calling for. We hope that will be understood and that bloodshed will be avoided."
Earlier, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said the European Union is trying to mediate between Russia and Georgia to calm tension but has been unable to persuade their leaders to talk to each other so far.