Separatists in Abkhazia Claim Battle Victory

Officials in Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia said they have regained control over a valley that had been infiltrated by Georgian and Chechen fighters, and a top leader said his forces were prepared to carry out preventive strikes beyond Abkhazia’s borders.

Anri Dzhergeniya, prime minister of the self-declared government of Abkhazia, said the region had turned to Russia with a request to form a closer alliance--another step away from Georgia.

Russian President Vladimir V. Putin has said Moscow respects Georgia’s territorial integrity and will not interfere in Abkhazia, where a shaky cease-fire has been in place since 1994.