ZAGREB, August 12, 2008 (AFP) - A Russian diplomat here said his country would not threaten Georgia's borders, fighting between the two countries halted, the Croatian president's office said Tuesday.

The assurance came from Russia's ambassador to Croatia, Mikhail Konarovsky, at a meeting requested by Croatian presidential adviser on foreign affairs, Tomislav Jakic.

'Ambassador Konarovsky stressed that the Russian Federation would not threaten the territorial integrity of Georgia,' said a statement from the Croatian president's office issued after the talks.

The ambassador also stated that Russia 'does not want a war at its southern border, but that it has the right, like other countries, to protect its nationals,' the statement said.

The conflict erupted last Thursday when Georgian forces launched an offensive to regain control of South Ossetia, a Moscow-backed province that broke away from Georgia in the 1990s.

Russia launched an overwhelming counter-offensive using troops and air raids, driving the Georgian soldiers out of South Ossetia and forcing them to retrench near the capital Tbilisi.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili accused Rusia of wanting to occupy all of the country -- not just South Ossetia and another Russian-backed separatist province of Abkhazia.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday ordered a halt to military operations against Georgia.

After talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country currently holds the European Union presidency, Medvedev said the two leaders agreed on the need for international negotiations on the future status of the two rebel provinces in Georgia.