Georgia said yesterday that it had shot down a Russian reconnaissance drone over Georgian territory just south of the breakaway region of South Ossetia, the first such incident since last month’s war.
However, Russia’s military was quick to deny the claim.
“There has been no crash or downing of any flying apparatus in the security zone,” spokesman Vitaly Manushko was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti news agency.
Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said the drone was brought down on Monday morning near the town of Gori, some 30km from the de facto border with South Ossetia.
“It was flying over the territory between the villages of Khurvaleti and Tsitelutani,” he said. “We believe it was patrolling the territory where the Baku-Supsa [oil] pipeline runs.”
Utiashvili said it was a short-range drone, and suggested it had been launched from Russian positions holding a “security zone” just a few kilometers north of Gori.
Russian forces continue to hold positions inside undisputed Georgian territory after they repelled a Georgian assault early last month to retake South Ossetia from pro-Moscow separatists.
Meanwhile, EU military observers will be deployed in Georgia by an Oct. 1 deadline despite Moscow’s continued insistence that they will not be allowed into South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the head of the EU mission pledged on Monday.
Under a French-brokered ceasefire, Russia has 10 days to withdraw its forces from Georgian areas outside once the EU observers are in place.
Hansjoerg Haber, who is heading the EU mission, promised that the 200 observers will be in place near the cities of Gori, Zugdidi and Poti by Oct. 1 — a promise that was praised by Georgian Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze.
“The deployment is a pivotal step to stabilize the situation,” Gurgenidze said after meeting Haber. “We appreciate the speed with which they sent the mission.”
The presence of non-Russian, foreign observers in Georgia was a key aspect of the updated ceasefire deal reached between Russia and Georgia earlier this month. But the scope and effectiveness of the EU mission — and that of other foreign observers — has been in doubt due to Moscow’s refusal to allow the observers into the two areas.
Moscow has also balked at letting more monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) into South Ossetia. The OSCE had hoped to send 80 more unarmed observers, but talks with Russia broke down last week.
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