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Georgian Air Attack On Russia

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  • Georgian Air Attack On Russia

    GEORGIAN AIR ATTACK ON RUSSIA
    by Vladimir Novikov, Gennadi Sysoev
    Translated by A. Ignatkin

    Source: Kommersant, December 11, 2006, p. 10
    Agency WPS
    DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
    December 13, 2006 Wednesday

    TRANSIT FLIGHTS OF THE RUSSIAN AF ACROSS GEORGIA PROHIBITED; Tbilisi
    finds new and more ways of making Russia's life difficult.

    The Russian Foreign Ministry demanded from Georgia "an immediate end
    to the practice of sabotaging the Accord on military shipments and
    personnel transit across Georgia" and accused Tbilisi of deliberate
    tension-mounting, last week.

    Diplomat Mikhail Kamynin ascribed the demarche to the fact that
    "Georgia has ignored the request for the planned Russian flights to the
    Russian military base in Gyumri, Armenia" on December 8-22. The request
    was forwarded to Tbilisi in advance, but the Georgian authorities
    "chose to leave it unanswered" (to quote Kamynin). Moscow took it
    as "a deliberate attempt to interfere with the functioning of the
    Gyumri base" and with the withdrawal of the Russian troops from
    Georgia itself.

    As far as the Russian Foreign Ministry is concerned, Tbilisi is
    deliberately mounting tension in the bilateral relations. Georgian
    Ambassador Irakly Chubinishvili was summoned to the Russian Foreign
    Minister and served a note, last Saturday.

    Sources in the Georgian Foreign Ministry promise a response to
    the Russian statement come Monday. The Georgian Defense Ministry
    denies "any sabotage of flights of Russian military transports"
    because all planes flying over Georgia are the responsibility of
    Gruzaeronavigatsia, a civilian outfit.

    A spokesman for the latter who insisted on anonymity claims that
    Russia owes Gruzaeronavigatsia money. The source refused to say what
    exact sum was meant. "If Russia uses the clearly invented pretext of
    Georgian air carriers' debts to Russia to prohibit air traffic from
    Georgia to Russia, then Georgia is also entitled to demand what the
    Russian Defense Ministry owes Gruzaeronavigatsia," he said.

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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