NationStates Jolt Archive

Georgia says it fired at Russian plane this week

TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgian forces fired at a plane they believed was Russian after it violated the Caucasus republic's airspace on Wednesday, a senior interior ministry official said.


The incident marks an intensification of a row between the two countries in which Georgia has accused Russian planes of violating its border and of dropping a missile near Tbilisi.

Russia called the Georgian statement a provocation. It has not reported any plane missing, and when asked specifically about the Georgian statement an official denied Russian aircraft had violated Georgian airspace.

"The day before yesterday at 22:24 in the mountains of Upper Abkhazia we opened fire on a Russian plane, after which we heard an explosion," Shota Utiashvili, head of the interior ministry's analytical department, told Reuters on Friday.

It was not clear what caused that explosion.

"The forest is on fire there, but we cannot confirm that the plane was shot down," Utiashvili said, adding that the interior ministry would send a helicopter to the area on Saturday to investigate.

Utiashvili could not say what kind of airplane it was, but insisted it was Russian. He said that it had headed towards a deserted mountain part of the rebel Georgian region of Abkhazia that was held by separatists.

Upper Abkhazia, where Georgia says the shooting incident took place, is a small mountainous part of the breakaway Abkhazia province still controlled by Tbilisi.

Moscow-backed Abkhazia is a regular source of tension between the two countries, as Georgia seeks to regain control over the region.

INTERNATIONAL REPERCUSSIONS

Moscow says its planes have never violated Georgia's border.

"This is another provocation in the information campaign waged against us," Interfax news agency quoted Alexander Drobyshevsky, an aide to Russian airforce commander, as saying.

"I say this officially, Russian airplanes did not violate the Georgian air space."

Interfax also quoted an official from Abkhazia's defense ministry as saying: "We haven't registered recently any downings of any plane at territory controlled by the Abkhaz side."

Georgia said on Wednesday two Russian planes had violated its border around the same area. Two weeks ago it accused Russian jets of dropping a missile near the capital, Tbilisi.

Russian news agencies quoted Abkhaz authorities as saying earlier on Friday their forces had fired warning shots on Thursday at an unidentified plane that crossed into Abkhazia from Georgia.

The row over aircraft has highlighted a crisis in relations between Russia and Georgia, which has been deepening since U.S.-educated President Mikhail Saakashvili began moving his republic of five million people out of Moscow's orbit.

Russia last year severed air, sea and postal links with its southern neighbor over a spying row. Before that, Moscow had banned imports of Georgian wine and mineral water, both major sources of revenue, citing health concerns.

The missile incident has had repercussions beyond the region, turning into an irritant in ties between Russia and the United States.
Honestly, it seems to me like Russia is simply a big bully. Whether it be with Estonia, or Georgia, Russia likes to act like it can do whatever it wants to and that the former Soviet countries don't have a soverignty that Russia needs to respect.

Russia sucks.

Honestly, it seems to me like Russia is simply a big bulley. Whether it be with Estonia, or Georgia, Russia likes to act like it can do whatever it wants to and that the former Soviet countries don't have a soverignty that Russia needs to respect.

Russia sucks.
Funny how this statement could hold true if you replaced Russia with "USA" too.

Seems to me that some former superpowers still think they can do whatever they want wherever they want.

Funny how this statement could hold true if you replaced Russia with "USA" too.

Seems to me that some former superpowers still think they can do whatever they want wherever they want.
Hmmm...what's funny to ME is how little America has to do with this thread (and international incident) and yet because of your anti-Americanism you still FEEL the need to make us important and bring us into a topic we don't even belong in.

Russia still messes with Estonia? Well, it's now in the European Union... wait, the EU is hostage to the threat of a cut in gas supply - just like what was did in the Ukraine...

Hmmm...what's funny to ME is how little America has to do with this thread (and international incident) and yet because of your anti-Americanism you still FEEL the need to make us important and bring us into a topic we don't even belong in.

I'm not the one who started saying so-and-so other country "sucks" for "being a big bully".

I'm simply broadening the scope of your thread by condemning not only Russia's aggressive actions towards its former Soviet Bloc members, but also any and all such flagrant violations of other nation's sovereign rights by bigger, more powerful states.

I could add in a couple of snide comments about Great Britain's and France's colonial past, if it would make you feel better. Or China in Tibet

My point is: sure, Russia is trying to bully smaller neighbors into acting as would profit them, but so are a lot of other countries. I wanted to underline that you conveniently cast the first stone at Russia while your own country was doing exactly the same thing elsewhere in the world, and has been doing so for quite some time now.

I'm not the one who started saying so-and-so other country "sucks" for "being a big bully".
Actually, Russia does infact suck and is infact a bully. Are you saying it's not? Prove me wrong.
I'm simply broadening the scope of your thread by condemning not only Russia's aggressive actions towards its former Soviet Bloc members, but also any and all such flagrant violations of other nation's sovereign rights by bigger, more powerful states.
Does not have to do with this thread. You may make your own thread on America or any other nations actions on smaller nations.
I could add in a couple of snide comments about Great Britain's and France's colonial past, if it would make you feel better. Or China in Tibet
I don't want you to at all. This is dealing with Russia.
My point is: sure, Russia is trying to bully smaller neighbors into acting as would profit them, but so are a lot of other countries. I wanted to underline that you conveniently cast the first stone at Russia while your own country was doing exactly the same thing elsewhere in the world, and has been doing so for quite some time now.
And my point is, if you feel that way..make your own thread about those other nations..but you would be taking the spotlight off Russia if you addressed those issues in this thread. And, as the article quoted is ONLY about Russia and it's actions, it is only appropriate to stick to Russia and it's actions.

Anyone worried Putin might finally decide to declare war if he gets annoyed enough? That's not what I'd want to happen, but something tells me it just might.


Russia is so unpredictable that anything could set him off...
Did you see there was a shooting in Chechnya?

But of course, dear President Bush would make speeches and such which would do absolutely nothing if serious military action was taken. That whole area is going to be a warfield soon...


What do you all think of that?

Anyone worried Putin might finally decide to declare war if he gets annoyed enough? That's not what I'd want to happen, but something tells me it just might.


Russia is so unpredictable that anything could set him off...
Did you see there was a shooting in Chechnya?

But of course, dear President Bush would make speeches and such which would do absolutely nothing if serious military action was taken. That whole area is going to be a warfield soon...


What do you all think of that?
I think that is pisses me off that Bush worries about arab shitholes affecting world stability and such even though Russia, to him, is not a threat at all...and he gets all buddy-buddy with Putin...calling him a "good man" and whatnot.

My comments are still relevant to the thread, and as such you,re going to have to deal with them. The thread is about a country flexing its muscle to impose views on another sovereign nation, in this particular case, Russia. I'm perfectly entitled to making parrallels with other states who flex their military or economic muscles to try to bully smaller states, like China or the USA, and it's perfectly relevant and pertinent.

Your obsession with talking about Russia and Russia only seems to me like a thinly veiled attempt at condemning them for it, and letting other such offenders go off lightly. Why, pray tell, should we condemn Russia as "teh suck" for their actions in Georgia(position with which I do not disagree, by the way) but fail to do so for China and their actions in Tibet, or the USA and their actions in Iraq, or past actions in South America? Those things are all the same.

Instead of throwing stones at Russia in particular, maybe you ought to be looking at the bigger picture and wondering why powerful states still seem to think they can get away with anything without fear of repercussions(which, sadly, is pretty much true).

My comments are still relevant to the thread, and as such you,re going to have to deal with them. The thread is about a country flexing its muscle to impose views on another sovereign nation, in this particular case, Russia. I'm perfectly entitled to making parrallels with other states who flex their military or economic muscles to try to bully smaller states, like China or the USA, and it's perfectly relevant and pertinent.
No, because then it sidetracks the discussions away from Russia and to these countries, to whom the article is not connected.
Your obsession with talking about Russia and Russia only seems to me like a thinly veiled attempt at condemning them for it, and letting other such offenders go off lightly.
I'm trying to address the problems with Russia, because I feel they are important. Hence, I made this thread. It seems, many Western leaders agree with me.
"Leaders in the U.S. and elsewhere in the West have expressed growing concern over Putin's increasingly authoritarian rule and reversal of democratic reforms, human rights violations in Chechnya, suppression of free speech, alleged murder of political dissidents, attacks on journalists in Russia, and support for highly authoritarian regimes in other former Soviet republics. Moscow has also been accused of using its natural gas resources to blackmail neighboring countries like Ukraine and Georgia to gain concessions on matters of concern to the Kremlin."

Instead of throwing stones at Russia in particular, maybe you ought to be looking at the bigger picture and wondering why powerful states still seem to think they can get away with anything without fear of repercussions(which, sadly, is pretty much true).
Because different states have their own reasoning for their actions. Hence, why Russia does something it feels is in it's national interests would not be the same reason China does something it feels is in it's national interest. That's why you should make threads on THOSE nations and their problems, less you make this much too general of a thread.

bumpity bumpity

But of course, dear President Bush would make speeches and such which would do absolutely nothing if serious military action was taken. That whole area is going to be a warfield soon...


Because it would just piss off the Russians more, and cause WWIII if the US intervened militarily?

At least we still have Belarus, they are great.

At least we still have Belarus, they are great.
Eh, I don't, um, uh, heh.....what?