President Mikhail Saakashvili, confronting disturbances in a separatist region, said on Saturday Georgia wanted no resumption of war but vowed to repel any "aggression" that might threaten his ex-Soviet state.
Saakashvili was addressing military graduates amid fresh clashes in South Ossetia, a region that broke away from Georgia at the end of Soviet rule and wants to join Russia. Four Georgian soldiers and one Ossetian were injured.
Russia, accused by Georgia of abetting the separatists, urged Saakashvili's administration and the region's leaders to halt all armed incidents and hold new talks.
Saakashvili, who has made restoration of authority over breakaway regions a priority for his new government, said Georgia, on Russia's southern flank, would tolerate no attempt at subversion from infiltrators.
"Should there be any aggression from outside, we will meet it with aggression," Saakashvili told the graduates. "Great battles await Georgia...and we shall win them."
Saakashvili, who led protests last November that prompted veteran leader Eduard Shevardnadze to quit, said Georgians would "fight for peace and do everything possible so that not a single drop of blood will be spilled".
He said Moscow was being drawn towards a conflict that would pit Georgia directly against Russia and called for efforts to ensure no such thing would occur. Armed fighters, he said, were pouring in to the region, recognised internationally by no one. "If scum and scoundrels of one sort or other...are intent on spilling blood in Georgia, let them come!" he said. But speaking later in Tbilisi, he played down any suggestion of conflict.
The turbulent south Caucasus region of which Georgia is a part is a transit route for oil from the Caspian basin, making it strategically important for both Moscow and Washington.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed the chances of reaching a settlement in South Ossetia by telephone with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, the Russian ministry said.
A statement, quoted by Russian news agencies, called on both sides to "show restraint and a constructive approach to solving the problem to preclude any use of force in the situation".
Tension has risen in the mountainous region this week.
Georgia commandeered a consignment of arms and goods from Russia it said was intended for the separatists, while Moscow said it was meant for peacekeepers long in the region. Ossetian forces seized 50 Georgian soldiers for a time.
A peacekeeping force made up of Russians, Georgians and Ossetians operates in the region, where many citizens hold Russian citizenship and uphold close links with Russia.
"We are ready for anything. A mobilisation has been declared," Irina Gagloeva, head of South Ossetia's information department, said by telephone.
Since his election in January, Saakashvili has vowed to bring South Ossetia and separatist Abkhazia on the Black Sea back fully under central control. He secured the departure in May of a rebellious leader in Adzhara, another Black Sea region.
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