Georgia cut diplomatic ties with Russia on Friday to protest the ongoing presence of Russian soldiers in the former Soviet republic.

Georgian diplomats in Russia are scheduled to leave Moscow on Saturday, according to the Foreign Ministry. Georgian lawmakers voted Thursday night to sever the country's diplomatic relationship with Russia.

Both countries, however, will maintain their consulates.

"We found ourselves in an awkward situation [wherein] a country militarily invading and occupying our country, then recognizing part of its territories, is trying to create a sense of normalcy" by maintaining diplomatic relations, Foreign Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili said in Sweden.

The decision was criticized Friday by Russian officials, who said it would only worsen relations between the feuding nations. Should Georgia and Russia decide to negotiate, they will now be required to do so through a mediating third country.

Meanwhile, Russia has told leaders of South Ossetia it plans to absorb the breakaway Georgian province eventually, officials in the territory said Friday.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity discussed the territory's future this week in Moscow, South Ossetian parliamentary Speaker Znaur Gassiyev said.

Russia will absorb South Ossetia "in several years" or earlier, a position that was "firmly stated by both leaders," Gassiyev said.

Gassiyev's deputy, Tarzan Kokoiti, said South Ossetia has the right to reunite with North Ossetia, which is part of Russia.

"We will live in one united Russian state," he said.

A Kremlin spokeswoman said she had no such information and declined immediate comment.

Lavrov slams 'biased' G7 criticism

The claims come as Moscow hit back at a statement from the G7 nations declaring Russia's recognition of the independence of South Ossetia and another breakaway province, Abkhazia, as a violation of international law.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov condemned the group's declaration as "biased and is aimed at justifying the aggressive actions of Georgia."

The G7 — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.S. and the U.K. — is also considering kicking Russia out of the larger Group of Eight, which would effectively disband the club of leading industrialized countries.

European leaders are also considering sanctions against Russia to punish Moscow for its continued presence in Georgia and recognition of the independence of the two Georgian separatist regions, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Thursday.

Russia failed to shore up its own international support when China and four former Soviet republics in Central Asia refused a Moscow appeal to recognize the territories.

Russia accuses Georgia of starting the five-day war between the two countries by attacking South Ossetia on Aug. 7.

Russia responded by driving Georgian forces out of South Ossetia and sending thousands of troops, backed by tanks and armoured vehicles, deep into Abkhazia before taking up positions far inside Georgian territory.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said in a CNN interview on Thursday that he suspected the U.S. of provoking the Georgia conflict to create a "competitive advantage for one of the candidates fighting for the post of U.S. president." He did not explain his comment.

The White House immediately dismissed Putin's assertion as "not rational."

Returning refugees fear mines

In another development, the United Nations refugee agency reported Friday that some 2,300 people from villages in the buffer zone between the Georgian town of Gori and the region of South Ossetia have registered in Gori as internally displaced people.

“The newly displaced in Gori all have stories of intimidation, including beatings by the militia in buffer zone villages north of Gori,” said Hélène Caux, a spokesperson for the UN high commissioner for refugees.

“Others have returned to Gori because they felt unsafe when they arrived back in their villages," she said. "They also said they feared the presence of mines.”

Many civilians left Gori, just outside South Ossetia, when the town came under Russian bombardment. Looting was reported after Gori was deserted by the Georgian army and police as ceasefire plans were made final.

According to Georgian officials, between 10,000 and 15,000 of Gori’s inhabitants have returned to their city, out of a normal peacetime population of 70,000.

With files from the Associated Press