A total of 13 people, including four Russians, accused of spying, were arrested in Georgia, Georgian Interior Ministry said Friday.

"In operation held by Georgian Interior Ministry`s department of counterintelligence dozens of people, cooperating in different ways with Russian special services, including Russian General Staff`s General Intelligence Department, were identified," Georgian Interior Ministry`s department of counterintelligence deputy director Otar Ordzhonikidze said. "Thirteen of them were arrested on spying charges and joining to special services of a foreign state. Four of them are Russian citizens."

He added that all of them were arrested in October. Ordzhonikidze called for all cooperating with foreign special services to come the ministry and to cooperate and they may be free from a punishment.

Georgia`s Foreign Ministry service declined to comment on Monday on media reports that it had detained 20 people suspected of spying for Russia.

"The Georgian Foreign Ministry has no information about this. The matter is completely within the competence of the Georgian Interior Ministry. When we do have information, he will make it public," Deputy Foreign Minister Nino Kalandadze said.

This is the latest in a series of spy flaps between the two countries since they fought a five-day war in 2008.

Two years ago, Georgia detained four Russian military officers and 12 other people on charges of spying. They were subsequently handed over to Russia.

In March 2010 a Russian military court in the North Caucasus sentenced a Georgian national and two Russians to 11-15 years in jail on charges of treason and espionage.

Long-standing tensions between Russia and Georgia, chiefly over the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, erupted into conflict in August 2008. Russia recognized the two republics as independent shortly after the war.
sections: Politics, World News