Bush raises concern about Abkhazia with Medvedev

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush on Monday congratulated new Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev on his inauguration and used his call to express concern about Moscow's dispute with Georgia over the breakaway Abkhazia region, the White House said.

Bush called to congratulate Medvedev on his inauguration as president and also spoke with former President Vladimir Putin about his election as the Russian prime minister, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

In his call with Medvedev, "President Bush raised his concerns about the situation in Georgia and hoped that all sides were working to reduce tensions," Perino said.

The White House has been highly critical of Russia in the escalating fight over Abkhazia and has called on Moscow to "back down." Russia has sent additional soldiers to the region and boosted ties with the separatists.

Georgia has tried to reassert control over Abkhazia and South Ossetia since they broke away in the early 1990s. The separatists said earlier on Monday that they shot down two more Georgian unmanned spy drones, which Tbilisi denied.

(Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky, editing by David Alexander and Sandra Maler)