RUSSIA said yesterday an extra contingent of its troops had begun arriving in Georgia’s break-away region of Abkhazia, a move Tbilisi said was an illegal act of military aggression.

NATO ambassadors discussed escalating tensions between alliance hopeful Georgia and Russia yesterday ahead of a meeting with Moscow’s NATO envoy.

NATO decided yesterday not to put Georgia and Ukraine on track to join the alliance after vehement Russian opposition, but the alliance pledged that the strategically important Black Sea nations will become members one day.