From Russia With Love: Unexploded Bomb Lands in Georgian Village
Amid growing signs that their long troubled relationship is hurtling toward a violent endgame, Georgia and Russia today tangled over an apparent 700kg explosive device that was allegedly dropped by Russian fighter planes near a village about 40 miles northwest of Tbilisi. The bomb, which did not explode, is seen by Georgian officials as yet another sign of Russian aggression against the Georgian state. Russia denies any involvement.
Despite the denials, Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili continued with his outrage. He called the incident as much a problem for the future of European security, as it is for Georgia.
Reuters has more on Saakashvili’s reaction . . .
.. . . Saakashvili said Georgia’s reaction would be one of “remarkable calm … which is what they are not expecting.”
He drew a parallel with cyber-attacks on Russia’s neighbor Estonia this year, which some there blamed on the Kremlin, and said European states should not appease Moscow.
“I don’t really see how often it can happen and how further these intrusions might go before the international community has a really strong reaction,”
The AP reports that South Ossetian Deputy PM Boris Chochiyev has a different theory. He claims this was a provocation against Russia . . .
“The Georgian side has done it in order to blame it on Russia,” he said. “Russia is the main guarantor of stability in our region, and it doesn’t want to incite tensions.”
Russia has long supported two breakaway regions in Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The bomb is reported to have fallen in the Gori region, not far from South Ossetia. Almost 500 Russian peacekeepers are currently stationed in the region.
In recent years, Russia has heightened the use of its political, military and diplomatic arsenal against Georgia. The bloodless Rose Revolution in 2003, not only brought a pro-Western government to power in Tbilisi, but also improved security cooperation with NATO and the United States. Since then, Georgia has expelled Russian officials on charges of spying, while Russia has used its energy card and trade markers to back Tbilisi into a corner.
