The G7 was trying to justify Georgian aggression towards the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Russia's Foreign Ministry said.

The G7 bloc, which includes the US, UK and France, had said Russia's decision to recognise the two regions as independent broke international law.

Russia and Georgia fought a brief war earlier this month over the issue.

The ministry accused the G7 of making "baseless assertions about Russia undermining Georgia's territorial integrity".

"This step is biased and is aimed at justifying the aggressive actions of Georgia," the ministry said.

Although Russia is not part of the G7, it has close ties with the bloc and is a member of its sister grouping, the G8.

Putin 'not rational'

The statement comes as officials in the Moscow-backed governments of both provinces hinted at closer ties with Russia.

South Ossetia's parliamentary speaker Znaur Gassiyev said Russia would absorb the region within "several years", according to a report by the Associated Press.

He said the move had been agreed at high-level talks in Moscow earlier this week.

The Russian Interfax news agency reported that Moscow will sign an agreement next week allowing it to set up military bases in the region.

And Interfax also quoted Abkhazia's foreign minister, Sergei Shamba, as saying his province "may become part of the Union State of Russia and Belarus".

The Kremlin has not yet commented on the reports, though the Foreign Ministry is due to hold a press conference later.

The claims come a day after Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin stoked up the war of words with the US.

He told CNN there was a "suspicion" that the Georgian conflict was created by someone in the US in the hope of benefitting one of the candidates in the presidential elections.

The White House dismissed Mr Putin's assertions as "not rational".

The conflict in the region began on 7 August when Georgia tried to retake South Ossetia by force after a series of lower-level clashes.

Russia launched a counter-attack and the Georgian troops were ejected from both South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

An EU-brokered ceasefire brought a formal end to the conflict, although each side has accused the other of breaking the agreement.

BBC