The former Soviet republic’s bid to join Nato is meeting hostility, writes matthew collin |
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The bitter dispute between Russia and its small, pro-Western neighbour Georgia has reignited amid a row over whether Moscow's war planes dropped a missile on Georgia earlier this month.
The Georgians say it was a muscle-flexing exercise by the Kremlin, to show who's still the boss in the former Soviet Union. But in a report issued this week, the Russians insisted the missile, which didn't detonate, was planted by Georgia to gain political advantage.
"One has the impression this is a crude provocation against Russia, but one that was executed very badly," said the chief of staff of Russia's air force, Lt-Gen Igor Khvorov, (right).
The row has escalated throughout August, with Georgia accusing Russian aircraft of repeatedly entering its airspace illegally. In the latest incident, the Georgians say they shot at a Russian jet, causing an explosion. |
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| Russia’s air force chief Igor Khvorov has accused the Georgians of faking a missile attack on their own country |
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It's still not clear whether the alleged aircraft was shot down or not, because the incident happened in an remote region deep in the Caucasus mountains which is controlled by pro-Russian separatists. Moscow said the Georgians were simply 'hallucinating' about it, while the separatists speculated the blast could have been a piece of space junk crashing to land, or even a UFO.
Georgia believes this is just the latest in a series of attempts by Russia to intimidate and destabilise its US-backed government, which came to power after the Rose Revolution in 2003. Last year, Moscow severed transport and postal links with Georgia, expelled many Georgians, and banned imported products.
There's no doubt the Kremlin has been angered by Georgia's desire to join Nato, with President Putin making it clear he doesn't want the Western military alliance to extend further into what he sees as Russia's sphere of influence. While Georgia continues to spurn its former masters in Moscow, the phoney war in the Caucasus is set to continue.
FIRST POSTED AUGUST 31, 2007
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