Putin says alarmed at possible Georgia use of force

MOSCOW, Oct 25 (Reuters) Russia is alarmed at the possibility that Georgia may try to resolve its problems with two separatist regions by resorting to force, President Vladimir Putin said today.

''We are alarmed at the policy undertaken by the current leadership to resolve its territorial problems with the use of force,'' Putin told television viewers, referring to Georgia's secessionist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. ''This is what concerns us first and foremost and we must prevent it.'' Putin also dismissed any notion that Georgians deported on grounds of entering Russia illegally were being singled out for ill treatment. He cited higher numbers of deportations for illegal immigrants from elsewhere, without naming the countries.

Reuters BDP RN1530