Georgia Says Held Russian Citizen ‘Plotting Provocation’
The Georgian Interior Ministry said it arrested a Russian citizen who had been plotting “a provocation” with involvement of activists from pro-Putin youth group, Nashi.
It also said that the arrested man would be handed over to the Swiss embassy in Tbilisi, which represents Russia’s diplomatic interests in Georgia after the two countries cut diplomatic relations following the August war.
“On April 16 the Interior Ministry arrested Russian citizen, Alexander Kuznetsov, who, as he himself said, is a member of Vladimir Putin’s youth organization Nashi,” Eka Zguladze, the Georgian deputy interior minister, said.
“He admitted that he was instructed to organize the transfer of the organization’s activists from Tskhinvali. According to their plan, a provocation should have taken place while crossing the administrative border. In particular, the armed guards accompanying Russian activists should have started shooting. I want to note that while arresting Kuznetsov appeared to have a letter of one of the members of the Russian State Duma,” she added.
The Interior Ministry has also released a video footage of a man, described to be Alexander Kuznetsov, sitting in front of camera and telling a story of how he was plotting the provocation.
Activists from Nashi arrived in Tskhinvali on April 15 as part of their campaign of motorcade Moscow-Tskhinvali-Tbilisi in sing of as they put it, “friendship between the Russian, Ossetian and Georgian people.” The activists rallied in Tskhinvali under the banners: “Saakashvili – war criminal.”
The Georgian national television stations have been reporting extensively about the group’s plans in recent days, saying that Nashi activists were willing to join ongoing opposition’s protests rallies in Tbilisi. It was not clear how the group activists were going to arrive in Tbilisi, wherein administrative border with breakaway South Ossetia remains closed since the August war and entry into Georgia from Russia via the breakaway region without prior notification of the Georgian authorities is illegal, according to the Georgian laws.
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)
