 |
Saturday 20th of April 2024, 04:35 CET |
| Georgian Troops Move Into Lawless Pankisi Gorge |
August 25, 2002
Reuters
|
Written by Margarita Antidze
Posted by HW on April 20, 2024
|
PICHKHOVANI, Georgia (Reuters) - Georgia sent 1,000 heavily-armed Interior Ministry troops into its lawless Pankisi Gorge Sunday, countering bitter Russian complaints that it had failed to tackle Chechen rebels there hunted by Moscow.
The move came hours after the United States sharply rebuked Moscow for allegedly "indiscriminately bombing villages in northern Georgia" Friday, a move Washington said could fuel tensions in the turbulent Caucasus region.
Russian military officials Sunday again denied its planes had been involved in the incident, in which a civilian was reported killed, while the Foreign Ministry said it was considering its response to the U.S. criticism.
Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze hailed the U.S. statement, telling state television in Tbilisi that "the main thing is that the White House has reflected the real barbarity of this act."
He added: "On my orders, the Interior Ministry and forces and special forces of Georgia have entered the Pankisi Gorge. Our aim is to restore stability and clear it of any criminal elements which may remain."
Relations between Russia and Georgia have hit new lows in the past week as Moscow accused Georgia of turning a blind eye to Chechen guerrillas in Pankisi and refusing to hand over rebels arrested by Georgian forces.
Georgia has consistently rejected demands for Russian troops to be allowed into the gorge to root out Chechen separatists whom Moscow has been fighting for the best part of a decade.
As Georgian Interior Ministry troops moved into the region, U.S.-trained Georgian troops launched large-scale war games at an official ceremony near Pichkhovani, a village around four km (two miles) from the Pankisi Gorge.
TROOPS, TANKS IN WAR GAMES
The war games include around 1,000 troops backed by 30 or so tanks.
"The army is not taking part in a police operation, but it is creating the conditions for the police to do their job better," Georgian Defense Minister David Tevzadze told Reuters. The war games are due to last around three months.
|
"These exercises will give our law-enforcement agencies the opportunity to act more confidently in restoring order in Pankisi Gorge," said deputy Georgy Baramidze, a former chairman of parliaments security and defense committee.
Russian warplanes struck close to the remote Pankisi Gorge, which the United States believes could be a refuge for militant Islamists. The gorge also lies across the border from Chechnya where Russian forces have been battling separatist guerrillas on and off for eight years.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Saturday the Russian attack had been verified by monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
"The United States regrets this loss of life and deplores the violation of Georgia's sovereignty," Fleischer said.
The United States was "deeply concerned about credible reports that Russian military aircraft indiscriminately bombed villages in northern Georgia on August 23, resulting in the killing of civilians."
The attacks "escalate existing tension between Russia and Georgia," he said, adding that Secretary of State Colin Powell had relayed U.S. concerns directly to his Russian counterpart, and stressed that a political settlement to the conflict in Russia's rebel Chechnya province was needed "urgently."
NO DETERIORATING IN TIES
Fleischer, however, stressed that his statement did not signal any deterioration in U.S.-Russian relations.
Such official public upbraidings have become comparatively rare as Russian-U.S. ties blossomed following Moscow's strong support for Washington's "war on terrorism." It was launched after the September 11 hijacked airliner attacks on the United States which left more than 3,000 people dead.
|
| |
| Countries: |
|
|
| |
| Related topic(s): |
|
|
|
