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Georgia to take drone dispute with Russia to OSCE

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Georgia will present to the OSCE Permanent Council on Thursday a recent United Nations report saying Russia shot down an unmanned Georgian spy plane in the breakaway region of Abkhazia, national media said.
TBILISI, May 29 (RIA Novosti) - Georgia will present to the OSCE Permanent Council on Thursday a recent United Nations report saying Russia shot down an unmanned Georgian spy plane in the breakaway region of Abkhazia, national media said.

Georgia's Rustavi-2 TV said the country has urged the OSCE to take action over the incident. Tbilisi previously demanded an apology and compensation from Russia for the destruction of the drone on April 20. Russia denies involvement in the incident.

Georgia asked the UN Security Council on Wednesday to convene an emergency meeting to discuss the issue.

In a report released on Monday, the UN mission in Georgia backed Georgia's claim that the drone was shot down by the Russian Air Force over the breakaway region of Abkhazia. Russia says the video footage provided by Georgia as evidence was doctored, while Abkhazia says its own military shot down the Georgian drone.

Moscow has accused Tbilisi of violating a ceasefire agreement by sending spy planes into the conflict zone, where it has maintained peacekeeping troops since the end of a bloody conflict in the region in the early 1990s.

The UN report also criticized Georgia for carrying out reconnaissance flights over Abkhazia, saying such flights breach the terms of a ceasefire deal that ended a conflict in the early 1990s.

Abkhazia and Georgia's other breakaway territory, South Ossetia, are currently the main source of tension between Georgian and Russia, with Tbilisi accusing Moscow of trying to annex the territories. Tensions have also been fueled by Georgia's plans to join NATO.

Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke away from Georgia following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Moscow recently bolstered the number of its peacekeepers in Abkhazia in response to Georgian troop buildup, but said the increase was still within previously agreed limits of 3,000 soldiers.

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