Moscow/Tbilisi - President Mikhail Saakashvili said Thursday that Georgia had come "very close" to war with Russia and the "threat remained" for a breakout over its breakaway region of Abkhazia.

"If anyone wants to annex a part of Georgia, there will inevitably be consequences," Saakashvili told Russian journalists, though he stressed a desire to return to diplomacy.

Russia's military announced early Thursday that would increase its troops in Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia to counter Georgia's accumulating military forces in the contested region.

Moscow/Tbilisi - Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili called an emergency security council meeting Wednesday in response to Russia strengthening diplomatic ties with its separatist regions, Russian news agencies reported.

Moscow announced Wednesday it would establish legal links with the self-governing republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia to "render legal assistance ... to the population of the two republics and to the Russian citizens residing there."

Russia's foreign ministry said it was acting on President Vladimir Putin's recommendation and non-binding parliamentary resolution last month calling for recognition of Georgia's breakaway regions.