Russia said it had reinforced its military presence in Abkhazia and South Ossetia as part of “preventive measures” in the face of ongoing political crisis in Georgia.

“We have numerously come across ‘vicious habits’ of Tbilisi to find the way out of its internal problems through external aggression,” Andrei Nesterenko, a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said on April 16.

“Having exact information about high probability of provocative actions against Abkhazia and South Ossetia in this period, the Russian side has taken preventive measures to ensure security of these republics and our servicemen stationed there. They [measures] are not something extraordinary and are being implemented in frames of planned complex exercises, which are underway on the territory of [Russia’s] North Caucasian Military District, South Ossetia and Abkhazia and its adjacent territorial waters on the Black Sea.”  

Georgia expressed protest on April 11 over “provocative military maneuvers” of the Russian navy on the Black Sea and on April 13 the Georgian Defense Ministry said Russia was increasing its military presence in Abkhazia’s Gali district, as well as in Akhalgori of breakaway South Ossetia.

Andrey Nesterenko said that Russia’s move was “purely demonstrative and preventive.”

“As the experience shows, such moves are helpful when you have to deal with revanchism,” he added. “I want to stress that as soon as the measures are accomplished all the military units will return back to the places of their permanent location.”

He also stressed that a real treat is coming from Georgia in terms of preparing “new provocations, including concentration of special troops and military hardware in the immediate proximity of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.”

Nesterenko said that ongoing political “crisis” in Georgia was a result of “the policy carried out by the political leadership of the country – and first of all by a failed ‘blitzkrieg’ on South Ossetia.”

He said that Moscow “notes with satisfaction” that “sharp political processes in Georgia are developing in general peacefully.” “And we hope very much that it will continue this way,” he added.

Nesterenko also said that Georgia was receiving “encouraging signals” from its western partners, which “push Tbilisi to carry out new provocative adventures in the region.”

In this context he mentioned NATO’s multinational military exercises in Georgia planned in May.

On April 16, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, has warned NATO not to take steps that would create “a sense of all-permissiveness and impunity in the Georgian regime.”

Georgian Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze, who is visiting the United States, told Reuters on April that it is Georgia’s “sovereign right” to host any exercises.

“It’s not Mr. Lavrov’s discretion or competence to dictate to us what kind of exercises we shall have in Georgia,” he said.