Georgia is demanding that Russia's role in South Ossetia be redefined and the make-up of the peacekeeping force in the breakaway province be made more international. Coinciding with an armed attack on the Georgian prime minister, Moscow has sent a special envoy to the region to try and calm tempers.
Tbilisi has repeatedly accused Russian peacekeepers of siding with the separatists. Moscow accuses Georgia of violating a 1992 peace deal. Bordering Russia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia tore away from Tbilisi's control in wars after the break up of the Soviet Union, seeking support from Moscow.
In a resurgence of violence, Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania's convoy came under fire a day after three Georgians were killed in fighting. He was visiting Georgian-populated villages in South Ossetia. No one was hurt. Both the Russian peacekeepers' commander and separatist leader Eduard Kokoity have denied involvement in the attack.
**PHOTO CAPTION***
Russian peacekeepers stand on guard at a checkpoint in Vanati, Georgia, some 10 km south of South Ossetia's main city Tskhinvali, Thursday, Aug. 12, 2004. (AP)