Speaking at a news conference in Sochi on 17 September, President Vladimir Putin said he is not satisfied with Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze's response to his recent message about the Pankisi Gorge problem, RTR reported on 17 September. "We wanted guarantees that there will be no terrorist attacks on our territory from the Georgian side, but we did not get such guarantees or commitments," Putin said. He added that Georgia is virtually not cooperating with Russia to combat terrorism and that more and more information indicates that Georgia is cooperating with terrorists. He repeated his demand to Shevardnadze to clear the gorge and said that he hopes he will be able to meet with his Georgian counterpart in Chisinau in October. He also rejected recent calls for economic sanctions against Georgia. "Tough economic sanctions will affect the Georgian people, with whom we traditionally have very warm relations," Putin said. (RFE/RL)