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Russian Foreign Ministry says Georgian claims about Russian spies are bogus (Update 1)

© RIA NovostiMinistry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Sputnik International
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Russian Foreign Ministry called Georgian claims about the Russian spies arrested on the Georgian territory bogus.

Russian Foreign Ministry called Georgian claims about the Russian spies arrested on the Georgian territory bogus.

A total of 13 people, including four Russians, accused of spying, were arrested in Georgia, Georgian Interior Ministry said Friday adding that all of them were arrested in October.

"[Georgian President] Mikheil Saakashvili's regime suffers from chronic anti-Russian spy mania," the ministry said. "Over recent years the Georgian government has repeatedly resorted to fabrication of such scandals, cynically hoping to receive domestic or foreign dividends," it continued.

The Russian ministry said that Georgia intentionally chose the time for such provocation, just ahead of the NATO summit in Lisbon and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit in Astana, Kazakhstan. The ministry said that Georgia wants to keep anti-Russian attitude in the country.

However, this bogus provocation will hardly give an effect, expected by Tbilisi, the Russian ministry said. "After all, everyone has long known the price for such propaganda tricks of Tbilisi."

The ministry said the claims are a political "farce", Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin earlier in the day said.

Russians arrested in Georgia have no connection with Russian security services, a source in Russian law enforcement agencies said.

"The arrested in Georgia people have no connection with Russian security services," the source said.

Georgia's Foreign Ministry service declined to comment on Monday on media reports that it had detained 20 people suspected of spying for Russia.

"The Georgian Foreign Ministry has no information about this. The matter is completely within the competence of the Georgian Interior Ministry. When we do have information, he will make it public," Deputy Foreign Minister Nino Kalandadze said.

This is the latest in a series of spy flaps between the two countries since they fought a five-day war in 2008.

Two years ago, Georgia detained four Russian military officers and 12 other people on charges of spying. They were subsequently handed over to Russia.

In March 2010 a Russian military court in the North Caucasus sentenced a Georgian national and two Russians to 11-15 years in jail on charges of treason and espionage.

Long-standing tensions between Russia and Georgia, chiefly over the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, erupted into conflict in August 2008. Russia recognized the two republics as independent shortly after the war.

MOSCOW, November 5 (RIA Novosti)

 

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