Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili told AFP the three men, who said they were construction workers, were detained Monday evening near the de facto border with South Ossetia after crossing into Georgian-controlled territory.

“We want to demonstrate our goodwill and will hand them over to the Russians today,” he said.

Frequent detentions of Georgian citizens near South Ossetia in recent weeks have raised concerns over increasing tensions around the rebel region, which was the focus of a war between Georgia and Russia in August 2008.

The government in Tbilisi is pressing for the release of four Georgian teenagers detained this month after allegedly crossing into South Ossetian-controlled territory with explosives.

Last year’s five-day conflict saw Russian troops and tanks pour into Georgia to repel an attempt to retake control of South Ossetia, which had received extensive Russian backing for years.

Days after the conflict, Russia recognised South Ossetia and another rebel Georgian region, Abkhazia, as independent, a move that has so far been followed by only Nicaragua and Venezuela.