TAMARASHENI (AFP) -- The head of a pro-Georgian administration in the ex-Soviet republic's breakaway region of South Ossetia called on foreign governments to pressure Russia into dropping its support for rebel separatists.

""We appeal to the international community to do all it can to prevent Russia from providing support to the (rebel) regime,"" Dmitry Sanakoyev told Western diplomats gathered in the Georgian-controlled village of Tamarasheni, only a few hundred meters (yards) from the separatist capital Tskhinvali.
Georgia hosted more than a dozen ambassadors from European countries in a gleaming new cinema in Tamarasheni on Friday, showcasing its efforts to regain control of South Ossetia through Sanakoyev's administration.
Tbilisi set up the administration earlier this year in an attempt to sideline the separatists after 15 years of deadlock in negotiations over returning South Ossetia to Georgian control.
Backed with more than 10 million dollars (7 million euros) from the Georgian government, Sanakoyev's administration is trying to win over the local populace with a major reconstruction program.
Sanakoyev told the diplomats he wanted South Ossetia to be part of Georgia, but with a high degree of autonomy.
""It seemed to me that he has a very good vision for the region, that he is looking toward Europe,"" said Germany's ambassador to Georgia, Patricia Flor.
The conference was delayed after Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia attempted to block the convoy of diplomats from traveling to Tamarasheni.
Citing security concerns, Russian soldiers stationed along the road to Tamarasheni initially refused to allow the diplomats to pass. They relented 30 minutes later after Georgian special forces arrived at the scene.
Georgia has accused Russian peacekeepers, stationed in the area under a ceasefire agreement, of repeatedly siding with the separatists.
The rebel administration enjoys strong support from Moscow, which backs South Ossetia financially and has provided Russian citizenship to its residents.
A patchwork of ethnic Georgian and Ossetian settlements spread out in the mountains of northern Georgia, South Ossetia broke away from central control amid heavy fighting after the Soviet Union's 1991 collapse.
Sanakoyev's administration controls mostly ethnic Georgian villages that account for about a third of South Ossetia's estimated 60,000 people