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Georgian president denies having sheltered Chechen rebels

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  • Georgian president denies having sheltered Chechen rebels

    Georgian president denies having sheltered Chechen rebels

    XINHUA NEWS AGENCY
    March 8, 2004, Monday 5:15 PM Eastern Time

    PARIS

    Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said Monday that Georgia has
    never given transit to Chechen rebels at a news conference that kicked
    off his 48-hour visit in France

    "I proposed (to Russian President Vladimir Putin last February) to
    carry joint patrols along the border" to make sure that Chechen rebels
    do not cross from Georgia into the Russian separatist republic," he
    said.

    He had also suggested that Russian representatives be stationed at
    Georgian border posts for a limited period of time to verify that
    Georgia was not granting visas to foreigners who would fight the
    Russians in restive Chechnya.

    "I get the feeling that the Russian military needs excuses to explain
    to Putin why they couldn't control Chechnya," Saakashvili said.

    Moscow accused Tbilisi of giving shelter to Chechen separatist
    fighters. The dispute has created tension between Moscow and Tbilisi.

    Saakashvili has promised to change his predecessor's " dangerous"
    policy allowing Chechen rebels to take refuge in Georgia, shortly
    after he was elected president on Jan. 4 after ousting ex-President
    Eduard Shevarnadze.

    Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov announced last Friday that
    "dozens of foreign terrorists" killed by Russian forces in Chechnya
    carried Georgian passports.

    Georgia borders Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia.
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