MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia may further increase troop numbers in the Georgian breakaway region of Abkhazia if Tbilisi builds up its forces near the conflict zone, the Russian defense ministry said on Thursday.

A Georgian government minister said this week Abkhazia was "very close" to war following Russia's announcement it was sending in hundreds of extra peacekeeping troops to counter what it called Tbilisi's plans for an attack.

Georgia's pro-Western government denied any plans to attack and its allies in NATO, the European Union and the United States said Moscow's actions could stoke tension.

The defense ministry said after the reinforcement Russia had 2,542 troops in Abkhazia. The maximum permitted under a 1994 ceasefire agreement is 3,000.

"Further steps by Georgia's security ministries to build up troops in the conflict zone can only lead to ... commensurate action from the Russian side to bring the peacekeeping contingent to the maximum authorized strength," the defense ministry said.

"All this is done for the sake of - preserving peace, preventing bloodshed," the statement said.

Any further escalation in Russian troop numbers is likely to anger Tbilisi, which accuses the Russian peacekeepers of siding with the separatists.