Russia, concerned over recent shootings in the border area between Georgia and its breakaway region South Ossetia, could use military force to defend South Ossetia, the Defense Ministry said Saturday, Xinhua reported.
Georgia opened fire on South Ossetia several times in the past few days, which is causing "serious concerns in the Russian Defense Ministry," the ministry stated.
"In case of further provocations threatening the republic's population and the Russian military contingent stationed in South Ossetia, the ministry retains the right to use all available means and forces to defend the nationals of South Ossetia and Russian servicemen," it added.
Earlier, the Georgian Interior Ministry said troops in the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali shot at nearby Georgian villages overnight to Thursday. South Ossetian authorities, however, said the suburbs of Tskhinvali were attacked by Georgian mortars on Wednesday night.
South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another separatist Georgian republic, broke away from Tbilisi's rule during a war in the 1990s that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Russia and Georgia fought a five-day war last August, when Georgia attacked South Ossetia to retake the rebel region that borders Russia. In response, Moscow sent in troops to drive Georgian forces out of the region.
Russia recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia two weeks after the conflict ended.