TIMELINE - Georgia and Russia's worsening relations

(Reuters) - Georgia recalled all but two of its diplomats from Moscow in protest on Wednesday after Russia recognised its rebel South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions as independent.

The issue of South Ossetia's independence has bedevilled Georgia's relations with Russia. Here is a short chronology of recent major events:

April 16 - Russian President Vladimir Putin orders officials to establish semi-official ties with separatist administrations in Georgia's Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Georgia says the order is a violation of international law.

April 29 - Russia despatches extra troops to Abkhazia to counter what it says are Georgian plans for an attack. The next day NATO accuses Moscow of increasing tensions with Georgia.

May 6 - Georgia says Russia's deployment of extra troops in Abkhazia has brought the prospect of war "very close".

May 31 - Putin, now prime minister, says he backs a Georgian proposal for Abkhazia's autonomy but not full independence.

July 5 - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev urges Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to refrain from "stoking tensions" in Georgia's breakaway regions.

July 10 - Georgia recalls its ambassador from Moscow in protest over Russian fighters flying into Georgian airspace over South Ossetia.

August 4 - Russia accuses Georgia of using excessive force in South Ossetia after Russian-backed rebels said Georgian artillery had killed at least six people.