MIKHEIL SAAKASHVILI CALLS BANNED RUSSIAN EXPERTS SPIES

RIA Novosti
December 2, 2009
Tbilisi

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili insists that two Russian
experts, who were refused entrance into Georgia on Tuesday, were
closely working with the Russian special services.

Two experts who planned to hold a meeting with their Georgian
colleagues on December 1-3 were refused entrance into the country at
Tbilisi International Airport. They were expected to hold talks on
Russian and Georgian relations and cooperation perspectives.

"The president stresses it is unacceptable for him that the state
border is crossed by occupant forces and spies sent by Russian security
services," said Manana Mandzhgaladze, a spokeswoman for Saakashvili.

She added that "in accordance with our information, these people are
in close cooperation with the Russian secret services and actively
support the occupation of the Georgian territories of South Ossetia
and Abkhazia."

When Nikolay Silayev, a senior researcher of the Center for Caucasian
Research at Moscow State Institute of International Relations,
and Sergei Mironenko, director of the State Archive, Moscow, were
refused entry, the remaining members of the delegation decided to
support them and flew back to Moscow via Yerevan, Armenia.

There are no direct flights between Russia and Georgia after diplomatic
ties between the two countries were cut off following a five-day
war in August 2008, which began when Georgian forces attacked South
Ossetia in a bid to bring it back under central control.

Two weeks after the end of the war, Russia recognized the former
Georgian republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent
states. Besides Russia, Nicaragua and Venezuela have also recognized
the republics’ independence.