New surge in Georgia tension before Rice visit

By Niko Mchedlishvili

TBILISI (Reuters) - Russia blamed Georgia for a surge of violence in two breakaway regions on Wednesday as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice headed to the tiny Caucasus mountain state with a message of support.

Underlining the volatility of a country that the West sees as a vital energy corridor, Georgian forces clashed with rebel troops in the breakaway Abkhazia region on Wednesday and Tbilisi said two military aircraft had trespassed in its airspace.

Rice was expected to voice support for Georgia's pro-Western government and its bid to join NATO, but her trip took place against the backdrop of a growing row between Tbilisi and Moscow and an upsurge in violence on the ground.

"The United States considers Georgia to be a good friend," Rice told reporters in Bulgaria, the latest stop on a European tour that will move on next to the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.

"There have been a number of moves recently by the Russian Federation that in fact have not been helpful in terms of the frozen conflicts there with Georgia and Abkhazia."

Earlier, Russia accused Georgia in the most explicit form to date of being behind attacks including a cafe bomb in Abkhazia that killed four and an exchange of fire in a second rebel region, South Ossetia, that killed two separatists.

The two regions are internationally recognised as part of Georgia but threw off Tbilisi's control in separatist wars in the 1990s and now run their own affairs with Russian support.

"The actions of Tbilisi present a real threat to peace and security in the South Caucasus and put the region on the edge of a new armed conflict with unpredictable consequences," Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.