Russia Claims Tbilisi Stirs Up Tensions

Certain forces in Tbilisi are deliberately fueling tensions through a series of terrorist acts in order to provoke a military response, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on October 6.

“This new aggravation of the situation in the South Caucasus is extremely alarming,” it said.

Seven Russian soldiers and at least four other people were killed when a car bomb exploded outside the Russian military headquarters in the breakaway region’s capital, Tskhinvali, on October 3. In another incident, an explosive went off in the Akhalgori district on the same day, slightly injuring at least one person.

The most recent incident took place on October 6 when Russian troops moving on a road near the Abkhaz administrative border were targeted in a bomb attack, according to Russian officials. In separate incidents also on October 6, the Georgian side reported that four mortar shells were fired from Abkhaz controlled areas at the village of Pakhulani on the Abkhaz administrative border. No casualties have been reported in the latest incidents.

“We get the impression that certain forces in Tbilisi, which are against the normal and smooth transfer of functions from Russian peacekeepers to EU monitors in the security zones around South Ossetia and Abkhazia, are deliberately aggravating the situation in the region and are trying to provoke new military actions through a series of terrorist acts,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said. 

It also said that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had sent a message to his French counterpart, Bernard Kouchner, in which he expressed concern over “the provoked exacerbation of the situation” in the region.

“Nevertheless, we firmly intend to implement the agreement of the Russian and French presidents on the withdrawal of peacekeeping troops from the territory of Georgia by October 10,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said. “We hope that the European Union, which acts as a guarantor of the non-use of force by Georgia, will take necessary measures to stabilize the situation.”

Georgian officials have accused Moscow of deliberately provoking tensions.

The Georgian Interior Ministry said that Russia was behind the October 3 Tskhinvali car bomb explosion.

“The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs [MIA] believes that this was a provocation staged by the Russian special services, aimed at dragging out the withdrawal of Russian forces from areas adjacent to the conflict zone,” the ministry said in a statement on October 3.

Temur Iakobashvili, the Georgian state minister for reintegration, said on October 3 that provocations were possible in and around South Ossetia, as the deadline – October 10 – for the withdrawal of Russian troops from areas adjacent to the breakaway region approached.

“Provocations are possible,” he told journalists. “Already there have been some minor provocations; we hope that they will not grow into large-scale confrontation.”

He said Tbilisi would not yield to provocations. “It is important to avoid military confrontation,” Iakobashvili said.

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