Temur Iakobashvili, the Georgian state minister for reintegration, said at a news conference in Brussels on May 6: “We literally have to avert war,” Reuters reported.

Asked how close to such a war the situation was, he replied: “Very close, because we know Russians very well. We know what the signals are when you see propaganda waged against Georgia. We see Russian troops entering our territories [in Abkhazia] on the basis of false information.”

He called on the European Union to take a more active role in reducing tensions, with options including participating in policing operations in the conflict zone. He, however, said no decisions on a bigger EU role had been taken during talks in Brussels with ambassadors from the 27 member states.