The Russian interior minister Vladimir Rushaylo, has met his Georgian counterpart Kakha Targanadze in Tbilisi to sign an agreement aimed at developing co-operation in combating terrorism.

Mr Rushaylo said security forces of the two countries had been working together to fight crime for the past two years, and information was being exchanged on events in border territories.

The minister said these contacts were becoming particularly important in view of developments in Chechnya, and it had already been possible to detain several people as a result.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service