Georgia and Russia cut direct diplomatic ties in a tit-for-tat political feud. The move came as human rights bodies called attention to a potential humanitarian disaster and evidence of ethnic violence during the war.

In the latest sign of deteriorating relations in the Caucasus, Georgia will withdraw all of its diplomats from its Moscow embassy, a foreign ministry spokeswoman said Friday, Aug. 29.

 

"Within the coming days, Georgia will withdraw all diplomats from its embassy in Moscow," the head of the foreign ministry's press department, Khatuna Iosava told reporters. "Consular relations with the Russian Federation will be maintained. It is a downgrade of diplomatic relations, not a complete cut."

 

Georgia had already pulled all but two of its diplomats from its embassy in Moscow earlier in the week. Hundreds of thousands of Georgians live in Russia and cutting diplomatic ties would have left them without consular services, a scenario they now face.