Caucasus tension in spotlight at UN

Russia wants to exclude any possibility of further Georgian aggression against South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

At a session of the UN Security Council, Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said Russia was concerned about Georgia's growing military presence near the conflict zone.

He stressed that even though the role of the EU in the region was purely as observers, it did not remove their responsibility for ensuring the peace.

European partners said they were concerned with the situation but that there was no need to over-dramatise it.

Russia has withdrawn its troops from the so called buffer-zone around South Ossetia, in accordance with the Medvedev-Sarkozy peace plan.

The Russian Envoy to the UN is to give a media conference later on Tuesday.