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Polish president voices concern over 'pro-Russian lobby'

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Polish President Lech Kaczynski expressed concern on Monday over the presence of what he called a "pro-Russian lobby" in the country, that is siding with Moscow over the situation in the South Caucasus.
WARSAW, November 24 (RIA Novosti) - Polish President Lech Kaczynski expressed concern on Monday over the presence of what he called a "pro-Russian lobby" in the country, that is siding with Moscow over the situation in the South Caucasus.

"I'm concerned by statements in Poland indicating the presence of what I would call a pro-Russian lobby in the country," Kaczynski told reporters in Warsaw.

The Polish parliamentary speaker had earlier questioned Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's claim that Russian troops fired shots at the Georgian and Polish presidents while they were standing next to their motorcade on the border between Georgia and its disputed province of South Ossetia on Sunday. Russia says the incident was staged by Georgia.

Speaker Bronislaw Komorowski, a former defense minister, earlier said: "In a threatening situation, the president is immediately put inside the car, and the car drives off, as the president is protected by a bodyguard. But here we saw both presidents standing and talking, and it seems one of them [Saakashvili] was laughing. This raises many questions."

He also said it must have been a "blind sniper" who fired shots from 30 meters away, but missed altogether.

Giving his account of the incident, President Kaczynski said he had heard shots from automatic weapons, but had not rushed back into the vehicle as he had not been aware of any threat.

Kaczynski was in Georgia to take part in celebrations of the fifth anniversary of the "rose revolution" that brought Saakashvili to power.

Commenting on Saakashvili's allegation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier said the attack was "a clear provocation" staged by Georgia. "They arrange provocations and then blame Russia," he said.

South Ossetia has also denied that its forces fired shots.

Russia and Georgia fought a five-day war in August after Georgian forces attacked breakaway South Ossetia in a bid to bring it under central control. Moscow later recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another pro-Russian breakaway Georgian province, as independent states.

During the August conflict, most Western powers sided with Georgia, accepting Saakashvili's claim that Georgia reacted to military aggression from Russia.

However, Saakashvili's version of events has come under scrutiny since the conflict, and Western rights groups have criticized Georgia's attacks on South Ossetian civilians.

A report released on November 4 by the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said the Georgian military used cluster munitions in civilian areas of South Ossetia.

Independent observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have said they are unable to verify Georgia's claim that Russia bombarded Georgian villages in the run-up to the conflict. Georgia had based its justification for its attack on South Ossetia on the alleged Russian bombardment.

Russia has withdrawn troops from Georgian territory, and an EU mission is monitoring the area. Shootings and attacks are frequently reported in the region, with Georgia and South Ossetia blaming each other for outbreaks of violence.

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