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Georgia in Russian attack claim
BBC NEWS | Europe | Georgia in Russian attack claim

Russia has committed an "act of aggression" against Georgia by dropping a bomb or a missile on a Georgian territory, officials in Tbilisi say.
They say the ordnance landed outside the village of Tsitelubani on Monday, about 65km (40 miles) north-west of the capital Tbilisi, but did not explode.

Russian officials have moved quickly to deny all of the accusations.

Relations between the two neighbouring countries have often been fraught since the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991.

'Act of aggression'

Georgian Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili told the Reuters news agency that two Russian fighter jets had dropped the bomb or the guided missile at 1930 (1530 GMT) on Monday.

He said the Russian jets flew some 60km over Georgia's territory, dropping the 700-kg ordnance which did not explode. No-one was injured in the incident.

Earlier, Mr Merabishvili told Reuters: "Our radars show that these jets flew from Russia and then flew back in the same direction that they had come from.

"I assess this fact as an act of aggression carried out by planes flown from the territory of another state."

Moscow denied the accusations.

"Russia's air force neither on Monday nor Tuesday flew flights over Georgia," said Col Alexander Drobyshevsky, an aide to the commander of Russia's air force.

"Russia has not violated the borders of sovereign Georgia," Col Drobyshevsky added.

Georgian officials said the bomb had landed close to Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia, which receives political and financial support from Moscow.

Strained relations

Relations between Moscow and Tbilisi deteriorated sharply last year when Georgia expelled four Russian army officers it accused of spying.

The deportation triggered a furious diplomatic row, with Moscow imposing economic sanctions against its neighbour and deporting a number of Georgians.

Georgian officials have frequently claimed that Russian military aircraft have violated its airspace - accusations always denied by Russia.

Moscow is angry about Georgia's plans to join Nato, while Tbilisi accuses Russia of trying to destabilise Georgia.

The worst problems have usually been related to regional conflicts - the frozen conflicts in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Many Georgians accuse Russia of imperialism, while Russia criticises Georgia for nationalism and pursuing an anti-Russian foreign policy.

entropy

If Russia would bomb, it would be in Ossetiya or Abkhazia. I doubt they had anything to bomb near Tbilisi.
The conflict with Georgia is a dirty one. Both sides behave like baboons, with Putin trying to force the country to respect Russia, and Saakashvili behaves like a kid throwing stones at lions in the zoo.
The hot regions, South Ossetiya and Abkhazia, will remain as the source of the problem. The people living there want to be a part of Russia, and they seek Russian protection. Georgia says that it is Georgian souvereign territory, and it is unwilling to let it go.

Kremlin has openly considered war scenarios against Georgia, and has developed battle plans. Rumors say that weapons are being delivered to the regional separatists.

Litvinenko, the poisoned Russian ex-spy, was rumored to visit Tbilisi some time ago, to meet some Chechen and anti-Russian people residing there. His visit, however, was disturbed by a violent attack, and he had to leave the city immediately. All information unconfirmed (source: interviews with Litvinenko's closest people such as Akhmed Zakajev by Kommersant).

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If memory serves...

Alex_Ivanov

I like Georgian style. First: "...two Russian fighter jets had dropped the bomb OR the guided missile", and next: "...dropping the 700-kg ordnance which did not explode."

So they picked that thing up, weighted it, saw Russian markings, but they're still unsure whether it was a bomb or a guided missle. LOL, Russia will never attack them, such opponents do not have any value, not even as target practice.

Dreadnought

One fast way to tell just who is telling the truth. The ordinance numbers dont lie. Trace them and you then have its origin. If the bomb or missle is unexploded then they have everything else they need to make such statements.`

Its not beyond any possible reasoning that they would/may pull something like this and ofcourse deny deny deny. The fact that they have used bullying tactics in the past is one small indicator why nobody trusts Putin. Especially the U.S.

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Taurkon

If the ordinance is Soviet era, then I assume this won't help much. And the next question would be why would Russia use expenssive modern weapons on Georgia? Unexploded ordinance would suggest an old soviet era weapon if indeed one was launched/dropped/planted etc.

braindead

Probably this one needs an independent inquiry - maybe Georgians confused things , or Rus. really dropped the bomb . In this case it could be a unfortunate , but ´honest´ mistake . OTOH , Rus. aircraft have intruded Georg. airspace before , chasing chechens .

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BudW

Were they trying to take out former President Carter?

smilingassassin

One could only hope so....

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texacali

So who lays claim to Ossetia. Named in the press as an international counterfeiting hub of US$, cigarettes, and pharmaceuticals. No doubt those mountain people would be glad to play the big states against each other. Can they keep it up?

Feanor

Technically Southern Ossetia is part of Georgia, but de-facto they have been independent for years after winning a war of independence against the Georgians. Same goes for the Abkhazians.

RIA Novosti - World - S.Ossetia's leader presses to join Russia

Apparently the two regions want to become part of Russia. The reason Russia is reluctant to allow this is because it would set a precedent for the Kosovo situation. In reality both of those regions (Ab. and S. Ossetia) are independent nations with stable government systems, international economic ties with Russia, and each other, and a standing army.

EDIT: a Russian news website newsru.com has posted an article that the missile is a KH-58 antiradar missile fired by an Su-24. Heres a link to the article in Russian, and a link to the missiles info.
Íîâîñòè NEWSru.com :: Ãðóçèíñêèå ýêñïåðòû óòâåðæäàþò, ÷òî ñáðîøåííàÿ íà òåððèòîðèþ ñòðàíû ðàêåòà ðîññèéñêîãî ïðîèçâîäñòâà
Raduga Kh-58 (AS-11 Kilter)