Fruit cargo blocks Russian border

The protesters are braving freezing conditions

Some 60 lorries laden with tangerines are blocking a major Georgia-Russia crossing on day four of a protest.

Russia has sent armoured personnel carriers to Nizhniy Zaramag, a mountain checkpoint where lorry drivers are blocking the Trans-Caucasus Highway.

The drivers were angered by Russia's refusal to let them enter the republic of North Ossetia.

A year ago the Russian authorities imposed a ban on Georgian fruit and vegetables, citing health concerns.

Security officials in North Ossetia say they are planning to take action to break the highway blockade.

It has cut off traffic to South Ossetia, where pro-Russian separatists do not recognise the Georgian authorities.

The head of North Ossetia's security council, Aslanbek Kelekhsayev, said his republic "has all the grounds and capabilities to restore order to this strategically important sector of the Russian border".

The lorries started forming a queue at the border on 21-22 December. Their cargo of tangerines is estimated now at more than 1,000 tons.

The authorities in Adzharia, the main tangerine-growing area in Georgia, say they announced several months ago that Russia had banned imports of citrus fruit from Georgia and that growers should sell their produce elsewhere.

Relations deteriorated sharply in September when Georgia expelled four Russians it accused of spying.

Moscow responded by severing diplomatic ties and transport links. Hundreds of Georgians living in Russia were accused of breaking the immigration law and deported.