Georgia says intercepted mobile phone calls between South Ossetian border guards show Russian tanks and troops invaded first — before Georgia's offensive began in the separatist region.

An Interior Ministry official on Tuesday played what he said were the recordings for Associated Press Television News and provided English translations.

Russia says it sent forces into South Ossetia on Aug. 7 only after Georgia's attack and was defending Russian citizens and peacekeepers there.

But the Georgian government says the recordings show Russia invaded some 20 hours before the Georgian offensive began.

The five-day war killed hundreds of people and caused the worst crisis in Russia's relations with the West since the Cold War.