MOSCOW, Aug 4 (AFP) - Russia and Georgia were on a war footing again Wednesday after Moscow hinted it could resort to military action in response to a Tbilisi threat to open fire on ships that "illegally" enter the waters of its breakaway region of Abkhazia.
Russian ships frequently take tourists to the separatist region on the Black Sea coast in northwestern Georgia that was a top spot for summer vacations in the Soviet era.
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has vowed to reunify his fractured republic since toppling the old administration in a peaceful "rose revolution" last year.
And he has since taken a stern view of Russia's involvement in his tiny and impoverished former Soviet republic, which will soon be home to a key pipeline from the Caspian Sea backed by the United States.
"I gave such an order a few months ago and I am repeating it today: all the ships will be sunk, we will fire on them... as happened in the waters of Abkhazia a few days ago," Saakashvili said Tuesday before leaving for a private visit to the United States.
Georgian coast guards last Friday opened fire on a Turkish ship that entered the Black Sea waters of Abkhazia.
Abkhazia's defense chief Vyacheslav Eshba said he would do "everything I can to make sure that the ships arrive safely. If need be, we will use our army for this," ITAR-TASS reported.
Saakashvili, who has tried to develop closer relations with Washington, took another stab at Moscow by saying that his order "affects all the so-called Russian tourists."
The coast guard will also fire on "Russian boats carrying tourists" from the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, he warned. "We will not allow Russian citizens to violate our territorial waters."
Moscow's response was quick and furious, with the foreign ministry describing Saakashvili's comments as "unprecedented" and warning of a looming war.
"These sort of comments are starting to show that Tbilisi is starting to lose contact with the reality in which the modern world lives," a ministry statement said.
"It looks like this is happening because they are building a political line based on plans to use force -- or threaten to use force -- including against citizens of unarmed ships.
"In accordance with international law, these sorts of demarches can be seen as a hostile act that can lead to all of the expected consequences," the statement said in a strong hint of military action.
The conflict between Georgia and Abkhazia, which lies between the Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea, began with the collapse of the Soviet Union and sparked an exodus of 250,000 Georgians from the region.
A bitter war ended in August 1993 with the region of Abkhazia gaining de facto independence from the former Soviet republic.
The two sides have been holding talks with the help of a special United Nations mission and Russia, which maintains a peacekeeping force in the region.
During his US stay, which ends August 8, Saakashvili is scheduled to meet with several US officials including US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.