Saakashvili told reporters that his government had conferred with Russian generals in his country late Saturday and asked them why they had moved their positions closer to Tbilisi the day after Medvedev had signed a French-backed peace proposal calling on Russia to withdraw.
"They said they have two options -- move toward Tbilisi or withdraw," said Saakashvili.
He warned that Georgians would violently oppose any Russian move toward Tbilisi.
"We will defend the city whatever it takes," he said. "We have most of our forces intact."
German and French reluctance at a NATO conference in April scuttled a U.S.-led drive to begin the process of drawing Georgia and Ukraine into the alliance. Russia strongly opposes membership for the country, viewing the alliance as hostile to its interests and encroaching on its centuries-old strategic sphere of influence.
Georgia's territorial disputes with Russia over South Ossetia and Abkhazia were one reason for not granting Georgia "membership action plan" status, a prelude to joining NATO.
Germany has enormous business interests in Russia and may have more influence with Moscow than Washington, which is viewed by the Kremlin with suspicion. German officials have also quietly chastised Saakashvili for his boisterous and belligerent rhetorical style, which they see as needlessly inflammatory, European diplomats in Tbilisi say.
But regardless of who started the conflict, Western officials have grown increasingly critical of Russian conduct in Georgia, where they worry about a growing humanitarian crisis. Thousands of Georgians have been displaced from their homes in the conflict.
"They're trying to dismantle this country," said one Western official, on the sidelines of the Merkel news conference, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Why would they roam around western Georgia and scare people, cut off supply lines . . . until the civil administration erodes and gradually collapses, if this was not the objective?"
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daragahi@latimes.com
Times staff writer Megan K. Stack in Tskhinvali contributed to this report.
