Georgia-Russia missile standoff continues
The Kremlin denies violating Georgian airspace
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Wednesday, 08, Aug 2007 08:51
Diplomats spent Wednesday attempting to smooth tensions between Georgia and Russia after the central Asian state accused the Kremlin of violating its airspace.
Georgia said two Russian fighter jets dropped a missile close to a village in the Gori region on Monday, a claim denied by Russia.
Media reports describe the missile, which is estimated as weighing about a ton, as being visible in a crater close to the outskirts of a small village, named by the Reuters news agency as Tsitelubani.
Today Russia reiterated its insistence that its planes had not flown over Georgia on either Monday or Tuesday, but Georgian officials said the missile was probably targeting a nearby radar installation.
Miguel Angel Moratinos, chairman of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, attempted to prevent the crisis from escalating by holding a three-way phone call with Georgian foreign minister Gela Bezhuashvili and Russia's first deputy foreign minister, Andrey Denisov.
He said afterwards: "We welcome decisions by the parties to avoid taking measures which would increase tensions or interfere with a calm and thorough investigation into the facts which should be conducted in view of the serious nature of this incident.
"Such an investigation should include the participation of all implicated parties."
And earlier European Commission spokesperson Christiane Hohmann repeated the calls for cooperation.
"Number one, we are calling on both sides to use restraint," she said.
Analysts fear the incident will escalate tensions between Georgia and Russia, however. Last September the arrest of four Russian 'spies' prompted a series of repressive measures introduced by Moscow and popularly supported by Russians.
Georgian businesses suffered closures and raids from police, 130 Georgians accused of being illegal immigrants were deported and postal and transport links were cut between the two states.