Russia has rejected a draft UN Security Council resolution on Georgia, proposed by France.
Russian officials said it contradicted the terms of the ceasefire deal brokered last week.
The resolution reaffirms the territorial integrity of Georgia, calls for compliance with the ceasefire agreement and demands an immediate withdrawal of Russian forces to their original positions.
Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin said Moscow could not support it because the resolution did not incorporate all the elements of the six-point peace plan agreed by the French and Russian presidents.
Meanwhile, Georgia's other separatist region of Abkhazia is to launch a formal appeal for Russia to recognise it as an independent country.
Abkhazia's parliament today approved the appeal by the region's leader Sergei Bagapsh, which was read out by an aide in the chamber.
It also called for Russia to maintain a 'military presence in Abkhazia'.
Russia has said that in the wake of Georgia's 7 August attack on South Ossetia, neither it nor Abkhazia can remain part of Georgia.
Both regions have enjoyed de facto independence since breaking from Tbilisi in wars in the early 1990s, but no country has recognised either region.
The upper house of Russia's parliament has scheduled an emergency session for next Monday to consider the request from Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
