GEORGIA BANS RUSSIAN MILITARY TRANSPORT FLYOVERS
Kommersant, Russia
Dec 12 2006
At the end of last week, the Russian Foreign Ministry demanded
that Georgia "immediately stop its sabotage of the Agreement on the
Organization of Transit of Military Cargo and Personal across Georgian
Territory" and again accused Tbilisi of inflaming tensions in bilateral
relations. Kommersant has learned that Tbilisi responded today. Georgia
is demanding that the Russian Ministry of Defense pay its debt for
the servicing of military planes when the fly over Georgian territory.
At the end of last week, the Russian Foreign Ministry demanded
that Georgia "immediately stop its sabotage of the Agreement on the
Organization of Transit of Military Cargo and Personal across Georgian
Territory" and again accused Tbilisi of inflaming tensions in bilateral
relations. Kommersant has learned that Tbilisi responded today. Georgia
is demanding that the Russian Ministry of Defense pay its debt for
the servicing of military planes when the fly over Georgian territory.
Mikhail Kamynin, a spokesman of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said
that the ministry was referring to "Georgia’s ignoring the request
for the fulfillment of planes flights by Russian planes between
December 8 and 22" to the Russian military base in the Armenian city
of Gyumri. Although the appropriate request was sent in a timely
manner to Tbilisi, according to Kamynin, it was "simply left without
reply." Moscow took that as an "intentional attempt to impede not
only normal functioning of the base at Gyumri," but the withdrawal of
Russian of Russian forces from Georgia as well. On Saturday, Georgian
Ambassador to Russia Irakly Chubinishvili was summoned to the Russian
Foreign Ministry, where he was informed of the Russian position.
At the Georgian Foreign Ministry, the Kommersant correspondent
was told that a response to the Russian statement would be made on
Monday. The Georgian Ministry of Defense told Kommersant that that
ministry "is not sabotaging Russian military planes" since servicing of
planes flying over Georgian territory is carried out by the civilian
Gruzaeronavigatsia."
An employee of Gruzaeronavigatsia who wished to remain anonymous said
that Russia owes Gruzaeronavigatsia a significant sum of money for
servicing its military aircraft. The source refused to name the exact
sum, but noted that "if the Russian side prohibited air flyovers from
Georgia to Russia on the pretext of mythic debts for the servicing of
nonexistent Georgian air companies, the Georgian side would also have
the right to rise the question of covering the debt of the Russian
Defense Ministry in relation to Gruzaeronavigatsia. For service of
flyovers across the territory of Georgia."