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Saturday, 02 October 2004
GEORGIAN INTERIOR MINISTER OFFERS TO PROVIDE RUSSIA WITH LIST OF PANKISI RESIDENTS
By empty (10/2/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Georgian Interior Minster Irakli Okruashvili offered on 2 October to provide Russian officials with a list of all people living in the country\'s Pankisi Gorge. The Georgian offer, announced during a CIS Ministerial Summit in Kyiv, follows renewed Russian concern over the use of the Pankisi Gorge as a staging area by Chechen rebels for cross-border attacks in Russia. In the wake of the attack on a school in North Ossetia by Chechen terrorists, Russian security forces have been exerting pressure on Georgia to introduce stricter measures along its border with Russia.
Georgian Interior Minster Irakli Okruashvili offered on 2 October to provide Russian officials with a list of all people living in the country\'s Pankisi Gorge. The Georgian offer, announced during a CIS Ministerial Summit in Kyiv, follows renewed Russian concern over the use of the Pankisi Gorge as a staging area by Chechen rebels for cross-border attacks in Russia. In the wake of the attack on a school in North Ossetia by Chechen terrorists, Russian security forces have been exerting pressure on Georgia to introduce stricter measures along its border with Russia. The Pankisi Gorge is home to a significant number of Chechen refugees forced to seek refuge from the conflict in Chechnya. (Civil Georgia)