MFA Demands Explanations from Russian Envoy

The Georgian Foreign Ministry summoned Russian Ambassador to Georgia Vladimir Chkhikvishvili on December 14 to express protest regarding controversial footage broadcasted by the Russian TV company NTV and demanded an official explanation from him.

The story broadcasted by Russian NTV was about the rotation of Russian peacekeepers in breakaway Abkhazia. A Russian peacekeeper said in the story that during a brief course of lectures given to peacekeepers prior to their assignment to the conflict zone they were told that Abkhazia was always an independent state and was only integrated into Georgia over the last 30-40 years.

According to the Georgian Foreign Ministry, “an interview with the Russian serviceman indicates clearly that the gross distortion of historic facts in these “lectures” rather than being accidental has clear-cut political motivations behind it.”

“This serves to explain the culpable negligence of Russian peacekeepers in relation to the acts of murder, robbery, kidnappings and other grave offences targeted against the native Georgian population,” the Georgian Foreign Ministry reported. 

The Georgian side stresses that the fact that the NTV footage calls into question the impartiality of the Russian side acting as a mediator in the peace process and insists on relevant explanations from the Russian side.

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)