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"The US regrets that Russia followed the South Ossetian separatists in walking out of the Geneva discussions on Georgia on May 18 during the introductory round of remarks," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said.
"The US also regrets the Abkhaz decision to boycott the talks from the start," he added in a statement.
"The United States is dismayed by such behavior, which contravenes the spirit of the August 12 ceasefire brokered by French President Sarkozy as well as UN Security Council Resolution 1866," he said.
He recalled that both the ceasefire and the resolution call for talks to contribute to security and stability in Georgia.
"The fact that the walk-out occurred before any substantive discussions began clearly signals a coordinated effort to undermine the Geneva talks," the spokesman said.
However, the State Department later issued a revised statement dropping the sentence accusing the three parties of staging a "coordinated effort to undermine" the discussions. It gave no explanation.
"We hope the Russian delegation and South Ossetian and Abkhaz participants will attend the talks when they reconvene on May 19," Kelly said.
Abkhazia had threatened on Saturday to boycott the discussions in protest at how the United Nations had described the region's status. They made good on that threat by failing to turn up when the talks began.
In UN reports the region is referred to as Abkhazia, Georgia. This infuriates representatives of the Moscow-backed region since it implies the separatist-minded territory is part of Georgia.
A new UN report is due out in New York late Monday and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he was waiting to see its contents.
The rebel regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia are regarded by Russia as independent states but most of the world still recognizes them as part of Georgia.
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"The US also regrets the Abkhaz decision to boycott the talks from the start," he added in a statement.
"The United States is dismayed by such behavior, which contravenes the spirit of the August 12 ceasefire brokered by French President Sarkozy as well as UN Security Council Resolution 1866," he said.
He recalled that both the ceasefire and the resolution call for talks to contribute to security and stability in Georgia.
"The fact that the walk-out occurred before any substantive discussions began clearly signals a coordinated effort to undermine the Geneva talks," the spokesman said.
However, the State Department later issued a revised statement dropping the sentence accusing the three parties of staging a "coordinated effort to undermine" the discussions. It gave no explanation.
"We hope the Russian delegation and South Ossetian and Abkhaz participants will attend the talks when they reconvene on May 19," Kelly said.
Abkhazia had threatened on Saturday to boycott the discussions in protest at how the United Nations had described the region's status. They made good on that threat by failing to turn up when the talks began.
In UN reports the region is referred to as Abkhazia, Georgia. This infuriates representatives of the Moscow-backed region since it implies the separatist-minded territory is part of Georgia.
A new UN report is due out in New York late Monday and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he was waiting to see its contents.
The rebel regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia are regarded by Russia as independent states but most of the world still recognizes them as part of Georgia.
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