Russia said Tuesday that Georgia's seizure of two Russian military depots inside the Caucasus country has violated the agreement reached by the two countries over the issue.

According to an official of the Russian Defense Ministry, the Georgian military seized the control of the two depots, which werewatched by unarmed Russian personnel and ready to be handed over to the Georgian authorities.

"This action, in the opinion of the leadership of the Russian Defense Ministry, is a flagrant violation of inter-governmental agreements," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

"The act was conducted in circumstances when the objects were being prepared to be handed over to Georgia, a fact which the Georgian military leadership had been informed about."

The Russian Embassy in Georgia has sent a diplomatic note to the Georgian Foreign Ministry, urging the Georgian government to return the depots.

However, Georgia denied the accusation by Russia, saying that its forces were merely guarding the depots to prevent them from being vandalized before they were legally passed into Georgian hands.

Georgian Defense Ministry officials said the Georgian troops did not enter the bases and the reason why they took control of them was that they found some Russians stole things from the depots.

The military base has been a hot issue in the relations betweenRussia and Georgia, which share a border through the Caucasus mountains.

Georgia accuses Russia of aiding separatists of its rebel province South Ossetia, while Russia insists that it respects Georgia's territorial integrity and does not support the attempt of South Ossetia, whose independence has not been internationally recognized.

In mid-July, Russia, Georgia and South Ossetia signed an agreement on ending the Georgian-Ossetian conflict.

Source: Xinhua