Assistant of President of Russia Vladimir Putin Sergei Iastrzhembski asked the Georgian government to hand over to Russia 13 Caucasians arrested while armed by Georgian boarder-guards on 8 June this year. The assistant of Russian President claims that the arrested are Chechen “boeviks” and that they have participated in many terrorist acts.
According to the press officer of the General Prosecutor’s Office, the arrested are Chechens, Khabarboes and Russians (the Resonance).
The Dilis Gazeti is not analytic about the extradition of 13 “boeviks” to Russia. According to its information, Iastrzhembski has stated that General Prosecutor’ s Office of Russia has sent to its counterpart all the documents essential for the extradition.
The Resonance assesses the issue more deeply. “Politicians in Georgia say that Putin realizes further pressure on Georgia through his assistant Iastrzhembski”, the paper states. According to its information, Georgian power structures do not have sufficient alibis admitting that the arrested are in deed terrorists. The paper presumes that in case the General Prosecutor’s Office decides the case in the advantage of Russia relationship between Georgians and Chechens may stain.
The issue of 13 so-called terrorists was fixed on during the visit of Interior Minster of Georgia Kakha Targamadze to Moscow, the Resonance claims. “Experts consider that this step is another case of conceding and showing that government of Eduard Shevardnadze is feeble to avoid aggression from Russia and pass its policy independently”, it says.
The Akhali Taoba talks about supposable existence of Chechen guerrillas on Georgian territory. “The tense situation in Kodori gorge might have grown in a war. Meeting of Jergenia (prime minister of breakaway unrecognized Republic of Abkhazia) and Eduard Shevardnadze settled the situation down. They both declared that there were no terrorists in Georgia”, the paper says and doubts that Russia believed in the announcement.
The paper spoke to MPs Kote Kemularia, Koba Davitashvili and Petre Tsiskarishvili about the issue. They said that proceedings occurring at the Georgian boarder and inside the county should be open to the public. “What is called a secret in Georgia is well-known to Russia, it is kept in secret for the Georgian population only”, Davitashvili told the Akhali Taoba. He considers that the provocation taking place in Georgia was made up in Moscow and aims to change the government with pro-Russian forces.