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Russia demands probe into alleged Georgian airspace violation -1

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The Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday it insisted on an immediate investigation into an alleged infringement of Georgian airspace by Russian fighters in the South Ossetian conflict zone.
(Recasts headline, adds ministry quote in para. 2, details throughout)

MOSCOW, August 7 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday it insisted on an immediate investigation into an alleged infringement of Georgian airspace by Russian fighters in the South Ossetian conflict zone.

Georgian Minister for Conflict Resolution David Bakradze said earlier Tuesday that on the night of August 6 two Russian Su-25 fighters illegally entered Georgian airspace and fired a missile at a radar station near the city of Gori. The missile did not explode and the radar was not damaged, he said.

The Russian ministry said: "We are certain that the results of an investigation, which we believe should be started immediately, will show us the true organizers and participants of such dangerous games."

Vyacheslav Kovalenko, the Russian ambassador to Georgia, was summoned earlier Tuesday to the Georgian Foreign Ministry in connection with the incident. Speaking to reporters after meeting with Georgian Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili, Kovalenko said: "Russian aircraft did not violate Georgia's airspace. I am completely ruling out such a possibility."

His statement echoes earlier denials by Russian Air Force officials.

"Russian aircraft did not fly over Georgian territory either Monday evening or Tuesday morning," said Colonel Alexander Drobyshevsky, a spokesman for the Russian Air Force. "They did not violate Georgian airspace."

Meanwhile, Georgia's breakaway province of South Ossetia accused Tbilisi of violating its airspace and firing missiles at its territory.

"Georgia has conducted an air strike on the territory of South Ossetia," the self-declared government's press service said in a statement Tuesday.

"A Georgian aircraft, probably a Su-25 or L-39, flew over the village of Tsinagar and fired air-to-ground missiles in the Gromski Gorge," the statement said, adding there were no reports of casualties or damage.

South Ossetia, which declared its independence from Georgia following a bloody conflict that left hundreds dead in 1991-1992, is a sensitive issue in bilateral relations between Georgia and Russia.

Georgian authorities are seeking to bring it back under their control, and have accused Russia, which has peacekeepers in the area, along with Georgian and South Ossetian troops, of encouraging separatist elements.

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