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Georgia 'requests UN session' on airspace violation by Russia

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UNITED NATIONS, July 11 (RIA Novosti) - Georgia has requested that the UN Security Council hold an emergency session to address this week's violation of its airspace by Russian military aircraft, a source at the United Nations said on Friday.

Russia admitted on Thursday that it had sent aircraft to monitor the situation in Georgia's breakaway republic of South Ossetia, over fears that Georgia could invade the province. Tbilisi called the flights an act of "military aggression" against Georgia and recalled its ambassador to Russia.

A diplomat at the UN headquarters told RIA Novosti that the Georgian delegation lodged a request with the Security Council on Thursday evening.

Relations between Russia and Georgia have plunged to a new low against the backdrop of outbreaks of violence in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, with the two countries trading accusations of provoking violence.

The Caucasus state's lawmakers unanimously passed a resolution on Friday calling on the international community to condemn "the Russian Federation's aggressive action" and to back Tbilisi, which seeks to replace Russia-led peacekeepers in the area with an international police mission.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said during a visit to Georgia on Thursday that Russia should not add to tensions in the region, but should help resolve the conflicts. Rice also said she would be seeking high-level talks to try to find a solution to the long-running conflicts in Georgia.

On Tuesday, Russia submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council on the situation in the conflict zones. Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, blamed recent bombings in Abkhazia and shootouts in South Ossetia's capital, which killed a total of six people, on Georgia.

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