TBILISI, Georgia — Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili on Saturday ruled out the use of force to establish control over two pro-Russian separatist regions.

He also said Tbilisi remained open to dialogue with Moscow to reduce tension that has been rising sharply since the former Soviet republic temporarily detained four purported Russian spies last month.

"We certainly, absolutely, categorically are not starting any military confrontation," Saakashvili told The Associated Press.

"Georgians' long term strategy is simple," Saakashvili said. "No fast solutions ... any short-term solution would be beneficial to the people who want trouble."

His comments were a rebuttal to Russian President Vladimir Putin's assertion at a summit with European Union leaders on Friday that Georgia was planning to take back South Ossetia and Abkhazia by military means.

Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which broke away from Georgia's control during bloody wars in the early 1990s, receive strong Russian backing. Moscow has given many residents in both regions Russian passports.

Fears are strong that the escalating tensions between Moscow and Tbilisi could trigger an outbreak of violence that could draw in the entire volatile Caucasus.

Putin sidestepped European appeals for moderation on Georgia.

"To our great sorrow and concern, the situation is developing in the direction of possible bloodshed," he told reporters Friday. He accused Georgia of trying to take back the two regions "by military means. This is what you and I should be afraid of ... bloodshed in that region."

Russia and Georgia have had a history of friction since they went their separate ways with the collapse of the Soviet Union 15 years ago.

That tension increased after Saakashvili came to power in 2004, pledging to bring separatist regions back into fold, bolster ties with the West and lead his nation to join NATO in 2008.

The Kremlin has recently cracked down on Georgian migrants in Russia as retaliation for Georgia's arrest in late September of four Russian military officers on charges of espionage. Russia has deported hundreds of people and closed dozens of Georgian-run firms and restaurants.

The dispute has further clouded relations between Russia and the United States.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was on a one-day visit to Moscow on Saturday, urged the two neighbors to try to get along.

"The rhetoric really needs to be lowered," she said during a press conference aboard her plane.

"We've been clear with both sides that cooler heads need to prevail here," Rice said. "People need to step back and realize that they are neighbors."

Rice cautioned both countries not to worsen the situation by provoking trouble in two separatist regions of Georgia. She warned "that's the kind of problem that could get out of control."

Saakashvili sharply criticized Russia's tough actions, and he called for dialogue.

"This is much larger than Russia's relation with its small neighbor," Saakashvili said. "What is developing is very, very dangerous ... and not showing any signs of stopping."

"Any dialogue is better than this kind of exchange of remarks," he added.

He compared the tension to a conflict over values, and linked it to Georgia's development as an independent state that is seeking its own role away from Moscow's shadow.

"If you look at the point where our problems start to emerge, it is around the time where we started to grow as an economy, when we started to solve social problems," Saakashvili said. He said it was "around the time we started to move in the right direction and to work."

Georgia's Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili also urged Europe not to remain silent as tension mounts.

"We need your voice, the collective unified voice of Europe," Bezhuashvili said in an interview with the AP earlier Saturday. "Don't leave us alone."

Separatist leaders, however, have insisted that their regions would never agree to come back under Georgia's fold.

"That train has left the station," South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity told AP earlier this week. Abkhazia's separatist President Sergei Bagapsh said a delegation from the provincial parliament would ask Moscow to recognize the region's independence next week.

"Abkhazia will never be able to live together with Georgia within the same legal area, within one state," Bagapsh was quoted as saying Saturday by Russia's Interfax news agency.

Saakashvili said he was hopeful that long-term economic development, backed by international support, would help restore the territorial integrity of the nation of 4.5 million people.

"The solution won't come overnight," he said. "We are working hard, we need to develop our economy. Then there will be less and less incentives for any separatist moves, provided foreign meddling goes away."