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Thursday, 19 September 2002
GEORGIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SLAMS RUSSIAN THREATS OF 'AGGRESSION'
By empty (9/19/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)
In an address to the UN General Assembly on 19 September, Georgian Foreign Minister Irakli Menagharishvili condemned statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin that he said constitute an open threat of aggression against Georgia. Menagharishvili said such statements, in conjunction with a Russian media campaign that depicts Georgia as abetting terrorists and thus fuelling the conflict in Chechnya, "gravely endanger peace and security in the region." He rejected as absurd Russian claims that Georgia is unable to crack down on Chechen militants on its territory, adding that Russia is using those accusations as "a smoke screen" to conceal its own inability to end the war in Chechnya.
In an address to the UN General Assembly on 19 September, Georgian Foreign Minister Irakli Menagharishvili condemned statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin that he said constitute an open threat of aggression against Georgia. Menagharishvili said such statements, in conjunction with a Russian media campaign that depicts Georgia as abetting terrorists and thus fuelling the conflict in Chechnya, "gravely endanger peace and security in the region." He rejected as absurd Russian claims that Georgia is unable to crack down on Chechen militants on its territory, adding that Russia is using those accusations as "a smoke screen" to conceal its own inability to end the war in Chechnya. (Reuters)