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GEORGIA ACCUSES RUSSIA OF AGGRESSION
Yusi Simonyan
DEFENSE and SECURITY
June 4, 2008 Wednesday
Russia
GEORGIAN DEPUTY DEFENSE MINISTER: RUSSIA IS ABOUT TO LAUNCH A MILITARY
AGGRESSION TO ANNEX AND OCCUPY GEORGIAN TERRITORY; Tbilisi takes the
appearance of Russian military engineers in Abkhazia as beginning of
an armed intervention.
Tbilisi took the appearance of Russian military engineers in Abkhazia
last Saturday as an act of aggression on Russia's part. Moscow
explained that engineers were dispatched to Abkhazia to repair the
railroad connecting Russia and Georgia.
Georgia refused to be placated by the explanation. "The military
is on the territory of Georgia illegally. It must leave," Minister
for Reintegration, Temur Yakobashvili, said. "Troops remain troops,
whatever it is they are doing."
"From the military planning standpoint, what is happening constitutes
the preparation of infrastructures for aggression," Deputy Defense
Minister Batu Kutelia told journalists. "Russia is making preparations
for an armed aggression to annex and occupy the territory of
Georgia... Our reaction will be adequate at all international forums."
"Since no permit was requested or granted, the deployment constitutes
an act of aggression," Deputy Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze said
at a special briefing in Tbilisi last Saturday. Vashadze added that
Georgian secret services were aware of what had been taking place in
Georgia but the Defense Ministry requested discretion at this point. "A
protest will be served to the Russian ambassador," Vashadze said.
Russia points out in the meantime that the agreement to repair
the railroad was reached by presidents Vladimir Putin and Eduard
Shevardnadze in Sochi in 2003. The actual situation is somewhat
different.
A senior official of Shevardnadze's government claims that "Putin
expressed interest in restoration of the Abkhazian part of the railroad
to restore traffic with Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Turkey... Shevardnadze
and Putin decided to set up a trilateral commission to examine the
railroad and its condition and calculate the costs. Actually, Yerevan
might have joined the commission too. However, all of this remained
wishful thinking."
Yusi Simonyan
DEFENSE and SECURITY
June 4, 2008 Wednesday
Russia
GEORGIAN DEPUTY DEFENSE MINISTER: RUSSIA IS ABOUT TO LAUNCH A MILITARY
AGGRESSION TO ANNEX AND OCCUPY GEORGIAN TERRITORY; Tbilisi takes the
appearance of Russian military engineers in Abkhazia as beginning of
an armed intervention.
Tbilisi took the appearance of Russian military engineers in Abkhazia
last Saturday as an act of aggression on Russia's part. Moscow
explained that engineers were dispatched to Abkhazia to repair the
railroad connecting Russia and Georgia.
Georgia refused to be placated by the explanation. "The military
is on the territory of Georgia illegally. It must leave," Minister
for Reintegration, Temur Yakobashvili, said. "Troops remain troops,
whatever it is they are doing."
"From the military planning standpoint, what is happening constitutes
the preparation of infrastructures for aggression," Deputy Defense
Minister Batu Kutelia told journalists. "Russia is making preparations
for an armed aggression to annex and occupy the territory of
Georgia... Our reaction will be adequate at all international forums."
"Since no permit was requested or granted, the deployment constitutes
an act of aggression," Deputy Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze said
at a special briefing in Tbilisi last Saturday. Vashadze added that
Georgian secret services were aware of what had been taking place in
Georgia but the Defense Ministry requested discretion at this point. "A
protest will be served to the Russian ambassador," Vashadze said.
Russia points out in the meantime that the agreement to repair
the railroad was reached by presidents Vladimir Putin and Eduard
Shevardnadze in Sochi in 2003. The actual situation is somewhat
different.
A senior official of Shevardnadze's government claims that "Putin
expressed interest in restoration of the Abkhazian part of the railroad
to restore traffic with Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Turkey... Shevardnadze
and Putin decided to set up a trilateral commission to examine the
railroad and its condition and calculate the costs. Actually, Yerevan
might have joined the commission too. However, all of this remained
wishful thinking."