By Chloe Arnold BBC correspondent

Peace talks over Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia suffered a further setback on Thursday when the Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili refused to attend.

Saakashvili has vowed to unite Georgia

He said he would not take part in the meeting to try to find a resolution to the 12-year conflict until the renegade province released three Georgian officers detained at the weekend.

Mr Saakashvili has vowed to restore control over South Ossetia - a breakaway region that has had de facto independence since 1992.

But talks in Moscow aimed at resolving the conflict were going nowhere on Thursday after he said he would not take part.

South Ossetian authorities have refused to release three Georgian officers held since Sunday who they accuse of spying.

Moscow had hoped to act as a mediator in the conflict, which has seen a sharp deterioration in recent weeks.

Central power

Last month a reconciliatory commission was set up after the war of words between Georgian and South Ossetian authorities brought the province to the brink of renewed hostilities.

Mr Saakashvili is regarded as a hero in Georgia after he led last year's peaceful revolution in the capital, Tbilisi, against the former regime.

Georgians living in South Ossetia would like to see a return to central authority.

But Ossetians, who are ethnically different, say they never want to be ruled from Tbilisi.

Russian mediators said they would make another attempt to convene talks on Friday.