President Vladimir Putin warned Georgia today not to provoke or blackmail Russia as Moscow tightened the screw on its southern neighbour.
Discussing a dispute with Georgia over the arrests of four Russian officers, who were later released, Mr Putin told lawmakers: "I would not allow anyone to talk to Russia in the language of provocation and blackmail."
In Georgia, the head of the central bank said his country would block Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as long as economic sanctions were in force. Russia was hoping to end talks on WTO entry this month.
The officers' arrests on spying charges last week triggered a wave of Russian retaliatory measures, which included severing all transport and postal links with Georgia and halting visas for Georgians wishing to visit Russia.
Moscow has long been unhappy with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili's pro-Western foreign policies and public attacks on its old Soviet master.
"The action of the Georgian authorities in recent months and years is very clearly anti-Russian. This is a political line drawn up by the Georgian government," Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters during a visit to Strasbourg.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov brushed off a Georgian plea for Moscow to halt naval exercises in the Black Sea off Georgia's coast and Moscow police raided Georgian businesses in the capital yesterday.
Authorities shut down two Georgian-owned casinos, occupied a Georgian guest house and seized half a million bottles of Georgian wine in separate operations.
The Interior Ministry described the raids as "routine, planned work ... to combat ethnic organised crime groups".
But a law enforcement source said that officials had received oral instructions to step up action against Georgians.
Russia's State Duma, the lower house of parliament passed a resolution blessing any further Kremlin action against Georgia.
"If anti-Russian actions threatening stability and security of the region continue, Russia has right to undertake a number of other, even tougher measures," the resolution said.