US Embassy Denies Georgian Airfields’ Inspection

(Tbilisi. March 26, 2003. Civil Georgia) – The US Embassy denies reports that American experts inspected a military airfield for possible use in the war against Iraq.

Temur Shashiashvili, governor of the Imereti region in western Georgia, told Rustavi-2 TV channel on March 25 that a group of US experts had recently paid visit to the Kopitnari military airfield, near Kutaisi, main city of Imereti region.

A spokeswoman for the US Embassy in Tbilisi, Hatia Jinjikhadze told Civil Georgia that at the US Central Command, Tampa, Florida the representatives of the Georgian Defense Ministry and the US army discuss a possibility of use of Georgian airfields at the moment.

“But US experts have not paid visit to Georgia to examine airfields,” Hatia Jinjikhadze said.

Georgia express readiness to allow US aircrafts on Georgian airfields, but authorities say the US had not requested use of Georgian airbases yet.

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