The Georgian Foreign Ministry has warned that “manipulation” of the Kosovo case in respect of Georgia’s breakaway regions will lead to “a dangerous deadlock” in Russo-Georgian relations.

“Any step taken against the territorial integrity of Georgia through the manipulation of the Kosovo problem or [through] any other theme will lead Georgian-Russian relations into a continuous, serious and dangerous deadlock, which will be extremely hard to break,” the Georgian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on February 17.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on February 15: “The declaration and recognition of Kosovo should definitely be taken into consideration in respect of the situation in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.”

President Saakashvili said on February 16 that Russia should “not play with fire.” He also said that he planned to discuss the issue with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, at a meeting in Moscow on February 21.