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Georgia Bans Russian Military Transport Flyovers
At the end of last week, the Russian Foreign Ministry demanded that Georgia “immediately stop its sabotage of the Agreement on the Organization of Transit of Military Cargo and Personal across Georgian Territory” and again accused Tbilisi of inflaming tensions in bilateral relations. Kommersant has learned that Tbilisi responded today. Georgia is demanding that the Russian Ministry of Defense pay its debt for the servicing of military planes when the fly over Georgian territory.
At the end of last week, the Russian Foreign Ministry demanded that Georgia “immediately stop its sabotage of the Agreement on the Organization of Transit of Military Cargo and Personal across Georgian Territory” and again accused Tbilisi of inflaming tensions in bilateral relations. Kommersant has learned that Tbilisi responded today. Georgia is demanding that the Russian Ministry of Defense pay its debt for the servicing of military planes when the fly over Georgian territory.
Mikhail Kamynin, a spokesman of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that the ministry was referring to “Georgia's ignoring the request for the fulfillment of planes flights by Russian planes between December 8 and 22” to the Russian military base in the Armenian city of Gyumri. Although the appropriate request was sent in a timely manner to Tbilisi, according to Kamynin, it was “simply left without reply.” Moscow took that as an “intentional attempt to impede not only normal functioning of the base at Gyumri,” but the withdrawal of Russian of Russian forces from Georgia as well. On Saturday, Georgian Ambassador to Russia Irakly Chubinishvili was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry, where he was informed of the Russian position.
At the Georgian Foreign Ministry, the Kommersant correspondent was told that a response to the Russian statement would be made on Monday. The Georgian Ministry of Defense told Kommersant that that ministry “is not sabotaging Russian military planes” since servicing of planes flying over Georgian territory is carried out by the civilian Gruzaeronavigatsia.”
An employee of Gruzaeronavigatsia who wished to remain anonymous said that Russia owes Gruzaeronavigatsia a significant sum of money for servicing its military aircraft. The source refused to name the exact sum, but noted that “if the Russian side prohibited air flyovers from Georgia to Russia on the pretext of mythic debts for the servicing of nonexistent Georgian air companies, the Georgian side would also have the right to rise the question of covering the debt of the Russian Defense Ministry in relation to Gruzaeronavigatsia. For service of flyovers across the territory of Georgia.”
www.commersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Dec. 11, 2006
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