MOSCOW, February 15 (RIA Novosti) - Russian diplomats said Wednesday the resolution passed by the Georgian parliament to expel Russian peacekeepers from a Georgian breakaway province could further escalate tensions, and added that Russia would go ahead with its legitimate peacekeeping mission in the region.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Georgian parliament adopted a resolution recommending that the government review the peacekeeping format in the South Ossetian conflict zone, laid down in the 1992 Sochi agreement, and replace Russian peacekeepers with an international contingent.

"The Georgian legislators' resolution clearly signifies that Georgia could be on the road toward destabilizing the entire region," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said Russian peacekeepers would continue their work in the conflict zone in line with their international commitments to maintain peace and security in the region.

The ministry also warned against provocations from the Georgian side in relation to the Russian peacekeepers.

"The recent provocations sought to produce retaliation from the peacekeepers and South Ossetia," the ministry said, adding that all concerns had to be addressed through negotiations.

The ministry described the Georgian parliament's resolution as part of an anti-Russian campaign, and said the 1992 Sochi agreement could only be reconsidered jointly by all the signatories.

Unilaterally, a party can only withdraw from the agreement, "which has provided calm in the region and prevented bloodshed for more than 12 years," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

He added that Moscow expected the Georgian government to show a responsible approach to the parliament's resolution and proceed from the interests of the Georgian people.

Russian peacekeepers have been deployed in the region since the early 1990s as part of a trilateral peacekeeping force to monitor ceasefire agreements between Georgia and South Ossetia. The self-proclaimed republic has been cultivating close ties with Russia, and many South Ossetians have applied for Russian citizenship.

Tbilisi has repeatedly accused Moscow of illegally issuing passports for Ossetian separatists and supplying them with arms.