Russia has threatened to veto attempts to extend the UN’s observer mission to Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia.

Moscow says it will block a resolution at the UN Security Council unless references describing the territory as Georgian are removed from the text.

The UN mission’s mandate expires at 0400 GMT on Tuesday.

Russia has recognised the independence of Abkhazia and Georgia’s other rebel region of South Ossetia. The West says the two regions remain part of Georgia.

Some 170 UN observers monitor the border between Russian-backed Abkhazia and Georgia.

Western dilemma

Washington and its European allies have drafted a resolution referring to the UN mission in Georgia.

Russia says this is unacceptable, arguing that the mission is not in Georgia.

“They [Western nations] indicated that they plan to go to a vote on their draft tonight, and in our traditional frankness I indicated to them that Russia will vote no,” Russia’s ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin said.

The BBC’s Laura Trevelyan in New York says Russia’s threat to use its power as a permanent member of the Security Council leaves Western countries with a dilemma.

She says they must decide whether to press ahead with a vote and risk the end of the UN mission in Abkhazia, or back down, which Russia could claim as the West recognising Abkhazia’s independence.

The head of the UN mission says the population will be vulnerable if the mission is closed down.

Abkhazia’s ethnic Georgian community complains that security has deteriorated since last year’s war between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia.

Diplomats in New York are now trying to see if a compromise can be reached in the next few hours, our correspondent says.

This article is from the BBC News website.