MOSCOW: Russia's FSB security service has caught a Georgian spy in southern Russia who was working to destabilise the region, Russian news agencies quoted intelligence agency sources as saying on Friday.

"An agent has been exposed, a Russian citizen, a native of Georgia," an unnamed FSB source told Interfax, adding that the capture "confirms the involvement of Georgian secret services in disruptive terrorist activity in the North Caucasus".

ITAR-TASS news agency also quoted an FSB source as confirming the capture of the man, aged 34.

The FSB claim comes as tensions between Georgia and Russia have dramatically escalated, centring on the separatist Georgian territory of Abkhazia, where Russia has peacekeeping forces.

The Interfax source said the suspect had been living in the war-torn southern Russian province of Chechnya and had admitted his work for Georgia's secret services.

"In part, his work was to organise contacts between Georgian secret services and active members of illegal armed groups on Russian territory," the Interfax source said.

The suspect had also been tasked with establishing contacts with Russian security forces and ensuring "free movement of terrorists in the North Caucasus", the source said.

"For fulfilling his tasks, the agent several times received financial rewards from Georgia's special services in American dollars. Some of these were handed over in personal meetings, some by... money transfer," the source added.

Tensions between Georgia and Russia have been fuelled in recent weeks by claims by Abkhaz separatists to have shot down several Georgian reconnaissance drones over the separatist territory.

Georgia has denied this, saying that only one drone has been destroyed by a Russian fighter jet.

Underlying the disputes is the effort by Georgia's pro-Western President Mikheil Saakashvili to join the NATO military alliance, which Moscow opposes.

Russia has established formal links with Georgian separatist regions, prompting strong objections from the international community and Georgia itself.


- AFP/so