Georgia prisoner of war swap scrapped as Nato chiefs warn Russia of 'economic backlash'

Lt-Col Andrei Bobrun, of Russia's North Caucasus military district, said Moscow had wanted to swap five Russian soldiers for 14 Georgians in a handover yesterday.

"At 12:15pm, with no explanation, Georgia quit the military prisoner exchange negotiations," he said. "There have been no initiatives by the Georgian side to resume the talks."

But Georgia's interior ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said: "Negotiations on this issue are under way. We had no agreement to exchange prisoners today."

Neither side has said how many soldiers it is holding, although it is reported Moscow's forces have 200 Georgian prisoners.

Under arrest: blindfolded Georgians on a Russian personnel carrier in Poti, western Georgia. Russian troops entered the port to make arrests and loot abandoned US equipment

Georgia accused Russian forces of violating yesterday's withdrawal agreement by rolling back into the key oil port of Poti on the Black Sea and detaining 20 Georgian police officers.

"They entered the civilian port and kicked everyone out," said Mr Utiashvili. Several men were seen being blindfolded and bundled into Russian armoured personnel carriers, which then headed east to the town of Senaki.

A small column of Russian tanks and armoured vehicles left the strategic city of Gori.

A Russian officer said they were headed for the breakaway province of South Ossetia.

Russia and Georgia prepare to exchange prisoners of war on a bridge in Igoeti, Georgia

A Georgian soldier (2nd right) is embraced on arriving at a hosptial after being released from Russian captivity today

Foreign Secretary David Miliband flew to Georgia today to become the first British minister to visit the country since Russia invaded this month. He headed for Tblisi after a meeting of Nato foreign ministers vowed to accelerate membership of the alliance for the former Soviet state.

The Brussels meeting was expected to support Georgia and reiterate a promise of future membership while urging Moscow to respect an EU-brokered peace deal.

But the Western alliance appeared split over the form of any reprisal. The US is leading calls for a tough response and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was expected to push for an end to high-level meetings with Moscow and military co-operation.

But some EU states, mainly France and Germany, want to maintain communication with Russia and Mr Miliband warned against attempts by Russia to drive a wedge between Nato allies.

Russia's ambassador to Nato, Dmitri Rogozin, said he hoped the "decisions by Nato will be balanced and that responsible forces in the West will give up the total cynicism that has been so evident (which) is pushing us back to the Cold War era".

Georgian prisoners of war stand next to a Russia military helicopter in Tskhinvali, Georgia.

Blaze: A Russian military vehicle rolls past a house set on fire by South Ossetian militia in the Georgian village of Kvemo-Achebeti

No Russian tanks or armoured personnel carriers left Georgia through the only military crossing point back into Russia last night, a reporter at the border said this morning.

The Kremlin yesterday claimed it had begun a gradual withdrawal of a large force from Georgia but Tbilisi questioned this, saying it had seen no sign of a pullout.

The reporter, stationed at the Roki Tunnel border crossing, said he saw only trucks loaded with construction materials and a number of ambulances driving along a winding mountainous road into Georgia overnight.

"I did not see a single item of military hardware passing through the border from Georgia into Russia," said the reporter.

A second correspondent who travelled along the main road from the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali towards the Roki Tunnel on Monday evening also said he had not seen any Russian armour or troops moving back towards Russia.