WASHINGTON - The United States criticized Russia on Monday for intentionally violating Georgian airspace by sending military aircraft over the rebellious Georgian region of South Ossetia. Sean McCormack, spokesman for the US State Department, said Russian activities in the former Soviet republic ‘raise questions about Russia's role as peacekeeper and facilitator of the negotiations’ to find a solution to separatist movements that have kept South Ossetia and Abkhazia away from the control of the central Georgian government.Russia said Friday that four of its planes circled over South Ossetia late Wednesday for about 40 minutes to head off a possible ‘invasion’ by Georgian troops. Georgia threatened to shoot down planes Russian planes if the incursion is repeated.
‘The United States is concerned by the recent escalation in violence in the Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and calls upon all sides to return to direct negotiations and resolve their differences peacefully,’ McCormack said. ‘We are deeply troubled by Russias statement that its military aircraft deliberately violated Georgias internationally recognized borders.’
In a statement issued late Monday, McCormack urged all countries, ‘including Russia,’ to ‘support Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.’