Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Georgia on Friday of preparing a 'bloodbath' in its breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Speaking after a dinner meeting with EU leaders in Lahti, southern Finland, he said Georgia was preparing military action to settle the territorial disputes.
When asked about strained Russia-Georgia relations, Putin told journalists: "The issue does not lie between Russia and Georgia, the issue is between Georgia and South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
"To our regret and fear, it is heading for a bloodbath."
He said that the recent deterioration of relations between Moscow and Tbilisi, sparked by Georgia's arrest of four Russian army officers on spying charges, had been fabricated for political purposes.
"The initiative to worsen relations originated not from Russia," he added. He suggested the imbroglio had been created to provide a smokescreen for Georgian military action in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
"I have the impression that we are deliberately being led away from this," he said.
Russia has ordered the near-total rupture of ties with its tiny neighbour, a former Soviet state which has sought closer relations with the West and the United States in particular.
Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke away from Georgia in the early 1990s when the Abkhaz and Ossetian ethnic groups revolted against central Georgian rule, resulting in the mass expulsion of ethnic Georgians.
Russia has warned that it would defend the separatist territories if the Georgian government launched an assault to win back control.