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Spyplane shooting by Russia was 'act of war' on Georgia
By Adrian Blomfield in Moscow Telegraph Newspaper
Russia was effectively charged with committing an act of war yesterday after a United Nations report concluded that one of its planes shot down a Georgian reconnaissance aircraft over Georgia last month.
The inquiry’s conclusions gave the first independent credence to claims by Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgia’s president, that Russia was responsible for a series of aggressive acts that had brought the two ex-Soviet neighbours close to war.
While Georgia has accused Russia of firing missiles into its territory in the past, UN observers in the country have concluded that there was not enough evidence to blame Moscow categorically.
This time, however, the UN team’s conclusions were unequivocal: Radar records, witness testimony and video footage from the unmanned drone showed that it had been shot down by a Russian missile fired from a Russian fighter jet.
“Absent compelling evidence to the contrary, this leads to the conclusion that the aircraft belongs to the Russian airforce,” the eight-page report said.
While Russia continued to deny the incident — at least the third of its kind in the last two months — Georgia said it was evidence that Moscow was giving military backing to rebels in Abkhazia, a renegade territory which broke with Tbilisi in the early 1990s.
“Georgia today is in a very difficult situation because foreign armed forces have entered its territory,” Mr Saakashvili said.
“The UN has released a report in which Russia is directly accused of aggression against Georgia. For the first time, the UN has directly, unequivocally, pointed the finger at Russia.”
The UN said Russia’s act was a fundamental breach of a 1993 ceasefire that ended a bloody civil war in Abkhazia. Despite being accused of carrying out several atrocities in the conflict, a peacekeeping force in the breakaway province is entirely made up of Russia soldiers.
Last month Russia announced it was reinforcing its “peacekeeping” presence in the territory, a move that infuriated Georgia and drew sharp criticism from the United States.
The UN also criticised Georgia for sending drones into Abkhaz airspace, while reiterating that the rebel province remained part of sovereign Georgian territory.
Silky
By Adrian Blomfield in Moscow Telegraph Newspaper
Russia was effectively charged with committing an act of war yesterday after a United Nations report concluded that one of its planes shot down a Georgian reconnaissance aircraft over Georgia last month.
The inquiry’s conclusions gave the first independent credence to claims by Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgia’s president, that Russia was responsible for a series of aggressive acts that had brought the two ex-Soviet neighbours close to war.
While Georgia has accused Russia of firing missiles into its territory in the past, UN observers in the country have concluded that there was not enough evidence to blame Moscow categorically.
This time, however, the UN team’s conclusions were unequivocal: Radar records, witness testimony and video footage from the unmanned drone showed that it had been shot down by a Russian missile fired from a Russian fighter jet.
“Absent compelling evidence to the contrary, this leads to the conclusion that the aircraft belongs to the Russian airforce,” the eight-page report said.
While Russia continued to deny the incident — at least the third of its kind in the last two months — Georgia said it was evidence that Moscow was giving military backing to rebels in Abkhazia, a renegade territory which broke with Tbilisi in the early 1990s.
“Georgia today is in a very difficult situation because foreign armed forces have entered its territory,” Mr Saakashvili said.
“The UN has released a report in which Russia is directly accused of aggression against Georgia. For the first time, the UN has directly, unequivocally, pointed the finger at Russia.”
The UN said Russia’s act was a fundamental breach of a 1993 ceasefire that ended a bloody civil war in Abkhazia. Despite being accused of carrying out several atrocities in the conflict, a peacekeeping force in the breakaway province is entirely made up of Russia soldiers.
Last month Russia announced it was reinforcing its “peacekeeping” presence in the territory, a move that infuriated Georgia and drew sharp criticism from the United States.
The UN also criticised Georgia for sending drones into Abkhaz airspace, while reiterating that the rebel province remained part of sovereign Georgian territory.
Silky
