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
