Senior MP Downplays Russia’s Response to ‘Spy’ Row

Russia does not have “many levers against Georgia any more,” influential parliamentarian from the ruling National Movement party Givi Targamadze told Imedi television on September 28.

MP Targamadze, who chairs the Parliamentary Committee for Defense and Security, said that Russia is politicizing the arrest of four Russian military officers accused of spying.

“We are dealing with a purely criminal case, because spying is a criminal offense. But Russia is putting this into a political context,” MP Targamadze said.

He said that Russia’s decision to announce a “partial evacuation” of its citizens from Georgia is “not an appropriate measure.”

“I think hiring good attorneys would have been a more appropriate step, because their citizens face very serious charges,” MP Targamadze said.

“Sending planes from the Russian Emergency Ministry to Georgia [to evacuate its citizens] is just a stage-show because everyone knows that no one faces a threat in Georgia,” he added.

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