U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has criticized Russia'sbehavior towards Georgia, saying it is adding to tensions in the area.
Asshe arrived in Prague Tuesday, Rice noted that the former Sovietrepublic of Georgia is an independent state, and called on both Russiaand Georgia to avoid "provocative" actions.
U.S. officialshave been dismayed by a series of Russian actions involving Georgia'sbreakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Meanwhile,Georgian Defense Ministry officials say four Georgian servicemendetained by South Ossetian authorities near the administrative borderof the breakaway area earlier Tuesday have been released. GeorgianPresident Mikhail Saakashvili had threatened action unless they werefreed.
Abkhazia and South Ossetia declared independence fromGeorgia in the early 1990s, sparking fighting and the dispatch ofRussian peacekeepers to the region.
Georgia has vowed to bring the territories back under central government control.