An unexpected "spy row," which suddenly deteriorated the already staggering Russian-Georgian relations, still does not have any sign of subsiding to date. Some critics say the row has dropped Russian-Georgian ties to a "freezing point".

Tough and vehement Russian response to the "spy row" provoked by Georgia has betrayed factors of contention between Russia and the United States for their spheres of influence in the Transcaucasia region.

Georgian police authority detained five Russian officers on spying charges on Sept. 27. In response, Russia accused Georgia of committing "state terrorism-with hostage-taking" while recalling its ambassador from Georgia and announcing a partial evacuation of diplomats and their families from the former Soviet republic as the relations between the two countries hit a new low. Russia imposed extremely tough, punitive measures upon Georgia even though the latter had released all the detained Russian officers. And the head of the Russian State Duma (or parliament) Committee on International Affairs informed at a press conference of the "further action of the State Duma in view of the aggravation of Russian-Georgian relations."

Economic sanctions, or popularly known "a big stick" wielded by Russia, have dealt a heavier blow to the economy of Georgia, which has a relatively weaker foundation and relies on Russian for its energy supply. At present, more than 100,000 immigrant Georgians are living and working inside Russia, who remit home over one billion US dollars annually, making up a significant proportion of the gross domestic product (GDP) in Georgia. Moreover, Russia's attitude has a crucial role to play on the status of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which concerns the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia.

President Mikhail Saakashivili, who came to power via the "Rose Revolution," has been pursuing a policy of "Pro-U.S. and Anti-Russia" and seeks to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and keep alienating Russia, which is what the United States has precisely aspired. To attain the goal of going on containing and squeezing the strategic space of Russia, the U.S. has been stepped up its ties with Georgia and beefed up bilateral military cooperation in recent years. NATO officially decided not long ago to "have more dialogue" with Georgia, so as to "bring bilateral ties into a new phase ahead of time."

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashivile, in a recent speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, accused Russia of what he termed a "gangster occupation" and "annexation" of the disputed Georgian territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and the rift between Georgia and Russia further widened.

In the eyes of Russia, the "spy row" is, beyond any doubt, attributed to instigation and incitation of the U.S. and other Western nations, which intend to lose no time in exploiting Russian-Georgian contradictions and weaken and reduce Russia's traditional influence in Transcaucasia region to the maximum. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov related the "spy row" to President Mikhail Saakashvili��s visit to the U.S. and NATO's enhanced cooperative ties with Georgia, and blamed the US role for worsening bilateral ties between Russia and Georgia. Russian President Vladimir Putin, too, warned the U.S. with strong wording that it is unacceptable for a third country to meddle in the region and menace peace and stability there.

Russia's tough, fervent response to the "spy row" can simply be said to be a rebuttal or counterattack to Georgia's policy of "Pro-US and Anti-Russia". The United States, NATO and EU have successively appealed to both Russia and Georgia to exercise restraint so as to stop escalating Russian-Georgia ties from the "cold war" to the "hot war". In fact, the "spy row" lashes not only the relations between Russia and Georgia but the Russia-US ties and the relationship between Russia and the Western world as a whole. The complexity of the matter has eloquently shown that the settlement of the Russia-Georgian crisis is no "plain sailing" against a backdrop of Russian-US contention in the Transcaucasia region.

By People's Daily Online