Vladimir Putin, Russia’s prime minister, on Thursday accused the US of provoking the conflict between Russia and Georgia, in the latest sign of escalating tensions between Moscow and Washington. The Bush administration dismissed his comments as “ludicrous”.

“Why . . . seek a difficult compromise solution in the peacekeeping process?” asked Mr Putin in an interview on CNN. “It is easier to arm one of the sides and provoke it into killing another side. And the job is done . . . ”