The U.S. Department of State said it regretted that Russia walked out of the Geneva talks on May 18 during the introductory round of remarks.

“The U.S. also regrets the Abkhaz decision to boycott the talks from the start,” it said in the statement. “The United States is dismayed by such behavior, which contravenes the spirit of the August 12 ceasefire brokered by French President Sarkozy as well as UN Security Council Resolution 1866, both of which call for talks to contribute to security and stability in Georgia. We hope the Russian delegation and South Ossetian and Abkhaz participants will attend the talks when they reconvene on May 19.”

In a joint statement released after the Russian delegation walked out of the meeting, co-mediators UN, OSCE and EU said: “The co-chairs are working for the resumption of the discussions tomorrow morning, 19 May, as planned and call upon all participants to be present.”

“The Co-Chairs strongly regret the walk-out by the Russian participants at the beginning of the fifth session of the Geneva Discussions today, after the Abkhaz participants decided not to attend and after the walk-out of the South Ossetian participants,” the statement reads.

Georgia's Deputy Foreign Minister, Giga Bokeria, accusing Russia of trying to “blackmail” the international community. He told AFP: “This shameful step is yet another violation of the European Union-brokered ceasefire agreements and of the latest UN resolution.”