Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS General Newswire
January 29, 2007 Monday

Georgian media report seizure of another batch of enriched uranium

Georgian special services have detained an Armenian citizen who was
allegedly trying to sell 170 grams of enriched uranium, the Georgian
media reported on Monday citing a source in the Georgian Interior
Ministry.

According to media reports, the detainee stated that he received the
enriched uranium from Novosibirsk.

Meanwhile, the Georgian Interior Ministry told Interfax that such an
arrest did in fact take place two years ago, and that media
organizations reported it.

It was reported last week that a Russian and three Georgian citizens
had been detained in Tbilisi after they tried to sell 100 grams of
enriched uranium. A special operation to detain the criminals was
staged last February. However, the facts were not reported in order
to protect the investigation.

The Russian citizen was sentenced to eight years in prison, while
three Georgians received from four to five years in jail at a trial
closed to the public in Tbilisi.

Meanwhile, Rosatom claims that the samples of uranium confiscated in
Georgia more than a year ago do not allow to establish the country of
origin. The agency also claimed Tbilisi was unwilling to cooperate
with Russia on the issue.