August 07, 2007

From Russia, With Love?

The AFP/France 24 report that the president of ex-Soviet Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, has accused the Russian Federation of launching guided ordnance into the former Soviet SSR in an attempt to influence Georgian policies.

Reuters quoted the Georgian Minister of the Interior, Vano Merabishvili, as saying "Our radars show that these jets flew from Russia and then flew back in the same direction that they had come from". The Interior Ministry had previously reported a 700-kilogram bomb as being dropped.

Reuters also pointed out that the Russians provide "moral and financial support" for rebels in the Abkhazian and South Ossetian regions, while accusing the Georgians of "anti-Russian" policies.

It is not the first time that the Georgian government has accused Moscow of aerial intrusions; former president Eduard Shevardnadze claimed aerial incursions in 2002. Then, as now, Russian officials denied the Georgian claims.

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I have no opinion as to the truth of the current allegations, but at the same time I wouldn't rule anything out where Putin is concerned. The Russians have a demonstrated history of playing rough with nations who don't toe its line---see their spat with Ukraine over natural gas---and there's relatively little risk to them for lobbing a round into Georgia. At worst, they admit a navigational error and go about their merry way while a somewhat impotent Georgia shakes its fist. At best, the Georgian electorate quavers in its boots and Russia gains some influence.

A now-missing comment at France 24 suggested that the Russians were interested in complicating Georgia's circumstances due to that regime's ties to the United States and the West. One wonders.

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EDIT: The originally linked story has been deleted, to be replaced by Georgia accuses Russia of bombing raid. In that story, the Georgians say they recovered a Kh-58/AS-11 Kilter ARM, reportedly fired from a Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer.

Posted by Country Pundit at August 7, 2007 07:05 PM
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