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U.S. to raise attacks on Georgia with Russia
By Elaine Monaghan
WASHINGTON, Nov 28 (Reuters) - The United States said on Wednesday it was deeply concerned about helicopter attacks from Russian soil on the former Soviet of republic of Georgia overnight and that it would raise the issue with Moscow.
Russia, which is battling Chechen separatists on its side of the Georgian border, has denied carrying out the attacks, though its forces claimed "significant losses" on the rebels overnight with air strikes near the border.
Washington's comments cast a shadow over a recent blossoming in U.S.-Russian relations prompted partly by their shared focus on fighting terrorism following the Sept. 11 attacks that killed more than 3,900 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
"We have consistently supported the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Georgia and we're deeply concerned about these intrusions which undermine stability in this region," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.
"And we've raised the situation at senior levels with the Russian government in the past and will do so again in the near future," he said at a news briefing.
Boucher did not accuse Moscow directly of carrying out the attacks, which Georgia says occurred in a border area near the Russian region of Chechnya called the Pankisi gorge.
Moscow says the Chechen guerrillas use remote border areas of Georgia as a staging ground for their fight in the name of ending Moscow's rule over the north Caucasus region.
Russian forces were quoted by Interfax news agency as saying they had inflicted "significant losses" on the rebels with overnight air strikes in the border region that continued into Wednesday morning.
But Itar-Tass news agency quoted a Defense Ministry spokesman as denying any bombs hit Georgia, saying "all such reports are false."
But Boucher said there were unconfirmed reports that two people on the ground had been killed in the attacks.
"We have some confirmation that there were helicopters that entered Georgian airspace from Russian territory (and) subsequently attacked areas on the Georgian side of the border," he said.
Boucher said the issue could be raised when Secretary of State Colin Powell visits Russia during a trip that starts on Monday, or possibly before then.
The Georgian foreign ministry accused Russia of "undisguised aggression" and demanded an end to the strikes and violations of its air space, which it said continued for a second day on Wednesday.
Russia has in the past denied striking Georgian territory, although it once acknowledged having bombed the former Soviet republic in error, after denying the incident had taken place for several days.
Russia says Chechen guerrillas have links to international terrorists, including Osama bin Laden, whom Washington blames for the Sept. 11 attacks.
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