Russia Questions Validity of Reported Kodori Shelling

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on October 26 that Georgia?s reports about shelling in Tbilisi-controlled upper Kodori Gorge can not be confirmed ?from independent sources.?

?No shooting has been observed in the course of the day on October 25, according to the information of the CIS peacekeeping forces stationed in the conflict zone. UNOMIG [UN Observer Mission in Georgia] is expected to give a final conclusion,? the Russian Foreign Ministry said in its information note.

?One thing is clear. The outbreak of this new confrontational rhetoric by official Tbilisi proves that there is no change in the line which was manifested by deployment of Georgian troops in Kodori. The recent event proves the legitimacy of the Russian side?s warnings about the dangerous course of forceful resolution of the conflict that has been chosen by the Georgian leadership,? the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Officials in Tbilisi accused the Abkhaz side of firing three rockets from a GRAD missile launching system towards the village of Zemo Azhara in upper Kodori Gorge on October 25. Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili, who was in Kodori at the time, said the rockets exploded in an unpopulated area less than 2 kilometers away from the village.

Sokhumi has denied the allegations.

UNOMIG said on October 25 that its observers will investigate the reported shelling.

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