President Mikheil Saakashvili on Monday accused the Russian government of invading undisputed Georgian territory and of seeking to depose his government as foreign ministers from the Group of Seven urged Russia to agree an immediate ceasefire with Tbilisi.

“They claim their purpose is to depose the democratically-elected government of the republic of Georgia,” Mr Saakashvili told a tele-conference before the line went down because of what the conference operators described as Russian aircraft “overflying” the president’s location.