Moscow (AP) Georgia's president says Russia's troops have effectively cut the country in half by seizing a strategic city that straddles the country's main east-west highway.
President Mikhail Saakashvili made the statement in a national security council meeting, about an hour after officials claimed Russian troops had captured Gori, about 60 Miles west of the capital Tbilisi.
The news agency Interfax cited a Russian Defense Ministry Official as denying the reports of the seizure.
But a top official at the Georgian embassy in Moscow says Russian troops appeared to be moving toward Tbilisi and he alleged Russia's goal was “complete liquidation” of the Georgian government.
