Georgia recalls envoy over Russian jet overflight

By Guy Falconbridge and Arshad Mohammed MOSCOW/TBLISI (Reuters) - Russia said on Thursday its air force fighters had flown over the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia to prevent an attack by Georgian forces. The overflight was ordered less than 24 hours before Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Georgia in a show of support for the ex-Soviet state, which wants to join NATO. Georgia denounced the flights as an unprecedented aggression and Rice also admonished Russia, saying "it needs to be a part of resolving the problem and solving the problem and not contributing to it." "The violence needs to stop and whoever is perpetrating it, and I have mentioned this to the president, there should not be violence," she told a joint news conference with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. Russia supports... [read full story]