"Four Russian officers from the military intelligence service (GRU) and 12 citizens of Georgia who were spying in Tbilisi, Batumi and all over Georgian territory were arrested in a special operation," Georgian Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili told a press briefing.
He added that the Georgian authorities wanted to question a fifth Russian officer, who the Georgian authorities fear may attempt to flee the country via "diplomatic channels."
Moscow reacted furiously to the news with the Russian foreign ministry calling for the "immediate release" of the four and accusing Georgia of an "anti-Russian policy."
In a statement the ministry said that Georgian accusations against the Russian soldiers were "baseless" and constituted a "brutal act showing that Georgia's leaders are carrying out an anti-Russian policy."
Operation continues
On Wednesday evening, several hundred police vehicles were seen surrounding the Tbilisi headquarters for Russian military bases that cover Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia.
It’s understood authorities are hunting the fifth officer they want to question, who may may be hiding in the building.
The government suspects the five officers are gathering information on Georgia's military capacity, its energy resources and on NATO-run programs in the country.
The interior minister added that the 12 Georgians arrested with the so-called Russian spies were accused of high treason.
The officers are also accused of having been implicated in a bomb attack west of the capital, which killed three police officers and injured 23 other people.
Strained relations
Relations between the two countries have deteriorated steadily since the January 2004 election of pro-Western President Mikheil Saakashvili.
Mr Saakashvili wants his country to join NATO and also wants to bring two pro-Russian breakaway regions of Georgia -- Abkazia and Southern Ossetia – under the government’s control.
Georgia has also been demanding for several years that Russia dismantle its two military bases in the country, which were set up in the 1990s to help put an end to fighting between Tblisi and the two rebel provinces.
Under the terms of a 2005 deal between Moscow and Tblisi they are supposed to be dismantled in 2008.