Security Service Downplays Russian Military Presence Near Mleta Village
Giorgi Sabedashvili, the Head of the Information-Analytical Department of the Security Service (SSSG) confirmed to Rustavi 2 TV the movement of the Russian military at the Georgian-controlled territory near the village of Mleta, but said there was “nothing new” about it.
The news about the Russian troop movement broke on October 25 by David Katsarava, head of the volunteer Änti-Occupation Movement, in his Facebook post. Katsarava said the Russian occupation troops were noted near Mleta, close to the Church of St. George, on the side factually controlled by Tbilisi.
Sabedashvili said this was a “sad incident.” “The [Russian] occupying forces have been permanently and illegally patrolling the territory of the church of St. George of Lomisi since 2009,” – the security official explained, noting that it was a “matter of concern,” but arguing that Katsarava tried to “deliberately alarm” the public, as if “something new has happened.”
Sabedashvili said Georgia has been addressing such cases within the framework of the “Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism” (IPRM) and Geneva International Discussions. “This is a subject of constant struggle at the negotiating table,” – he said, adding that the SSSG has always negotiated with the occupying forces to ensure that Georgian citizens are not illegally detained and that those already detained are promptly released.
Asked if the Lomisi Church may come under the permanent control of the occupying forces, Sabedashvili reiterated that “it is the continuation of the processes from the past.”
Mamuka Mdinaradze, the ruling Georgian Dream party deputy, reiterated Sabedashvili’s words, saying that reporting this information as news was “a malicious act.”
Commenting on reports of ongoing construction of military infrastructure near the village of Pichori in the occupied Abkhazia region, Sabedashvili said: “We don’t hide the fact that the occupying forces regularly carry out illegal activities, including the construction of military infrastructure in both occupied territories, what’s the point of hiding it?” He added: “After they [the occupation forces] finished the illegal construction of military infrastructure in 2011, they started the construction of smaller military infrastructure, and today it is being presented as if the SSSG is silent, and they are building a large military infrastructure, which is not true”.
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