| JRL HOME | SUPPORT | SUBSCRIBE | RESEARCH & ANALYTICAL SUPPLEMENT | |
Old Saint Basil's Cathedral in MoscowJohnson's Russia List title and scenes of Saint Petersburg
Excerpts from the JRL E-Mail Community :: Founded and Edited by David Johnson

#4 - JRL 2006-218 - JRL Home
Use of force to solve Georgia standoff unacceptable - Russian MP

MOSCOW, September 29 (RIA Novosti) - Russia should not resort to military force in an effort to resolve its conflict with Georgia over the arrest of a group of army officers, a Russian lawmaker said Friday.

Five officers were detained in Georgia earlier this week on suspicions of spying - an act described by Moscow as a provocation. One of the officers was later released, while the other four have been officially charged with espionage and remain in custody.

Russia has responded by recalling its ambassador and other senior diplomats.

Konstantin Kosachev, head of the International Relations Committee in parliament's lower house, said the arrest was intended as a provocation and that Russia should not overreact.

"A military solution must be ruled out," he said.

Kosachev described the charges brought against the Russian officers as "fictitious and politicized." He said the Georgian leadership staged "a political show of some sort" to divert public attention from domestic problems and its own inefficiency.

The lawmaker also said parliament's lower chamber was likely to come out with a special statement on Russian-Georgian relations shortly, and that Moscow should conduct its own inquiry into the case.