* Latest accusation of Russian intervention since 2008 war
* Six blasts between September and November, 1 killed
* Saakashvili says "serious terrorist acts" averted
(Updates with Saakashvili; adds details)
By Margarita Antidze
TBILISI, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Georgia said on Tuesday it had arrested six people for a series of bomb blasts in the former Soviet republic and officials linked the explosions to a Russian military officer but backed off blaming Moscow directly.
Pro-Western Georgia has often complained of Russian meddling in its affairs since the countries fought a five-day war in 2008 over Georgia's breakaway pro-Russian region of South Ossetia.
The latest accusation coincided with an EU-Russia summit at which the European Union backed Russia's entry to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), as the West and Moscow bury the diplomatic fallout from the war.
Georgia's Interior Ministry said police had arrested six Georgians over the weekend and that two others were wanted.
It said they were recruited in the rebel Black Sea region of Abkhazia by a Russian military officer named Yevgeny Borisov to carry out a series of explosions, the latest of which, on Nov. 28, killed one person near the premises of an opposition party.
CONTACT MADE
There were no other casualties in five other blasts, the first on Sept. 22 in the vicinity of the U.S. embassy in the capital, Tbilisi.
"It has been proved that there had been contacts before and after each explosion, and the phone number that Mr Borisov used to contact the group is an official cell phone number registered under the name of the Defence Ministry of Russia," deputy Interior Minister Eka Zguladze said, speaking in English.
Zguladze said Georgia hoped for Russian cooperation with the investigation. A senior Interior Ministry official told Reuters: "The Russians didn't care about victims, they just wanted these explosions on TV."
But several hours later, Georgian officials appeared to backtrack, saying they were not accusing Russia directly of responsibility.
President Mikheil Saakashvili, who has called for talks with Moscow, issued a statement saying that "serious terrorist acts" had been averted but that all the accusations against the group should be proven in court.
His statement made no mention of Russia.
Early last month, Georgia said it had dismantled a Russian spy ring, arresting four Russian citizens and nine Georgians.
Moscow dismissed the case as a "fabrication", saying the pro-Western government of Saakashvili suffered from "chronic spy mania".
Relations between the two remain tense since their 2008 war, when Russia crushed an assault by Georgia's U.S.-trained military on South Ossetia, launched after deadly skirmishes with separatists and months of Russian baiting.
Saakashvili called last month for talks with Russia, but the overture received a cool reception in Moscow. (Writing by Matt Robinson)
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