PUTIN
TBILISI (AP):
Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday denounced Georgia's arrest of Russian officers as "state terrorism," but ordered the withdrawal of Russian troops from the neighbouring country to continue as planned.
The two ex-Soviet republics traded angry statements in their worst bilateral crisis in years, and the commander of Russian military forces in Georgia said his troops had been put on high alert and ordered to shoot to kill to defend their bases.
"We are ready to thwart any possible attempts to penetrate our facilities using all means, including shoot-to-kill," Gen. Andrei Popov, the commander, told reporters.
Diplomatic fallout
Moscow, infuriated by Wednes-day's arrest of four Russian officers on spying charges, recalled its ambassador, evacuated its citizens and denounced Georgia as a "bandit" state. A Russian general also said plans for its troop withdrawal from Georgia were suspended. But Putin ordered the Defence Ministry to continue the pullout as earlier planned in an apparent bid to avoid foreign criticism for reneging on earlier agreements.
Ties between Tbilisi and Moscow had already been strained over Georgia's bid to join NATO, and allegations that Russia was backing two Georgian separatist provinces. Moscow de-nies that claim.
Putin said yesterday in his first public comments on the crisis that the Georgian leadership likened the arrests to the repressions of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's henchman, Lavrenty Beria, and denounced them as "an act of state terrorism involving the taking of hostages," the Kremlin said in a statement.
"These people think that under the roof of their foreign sponsors they can feel comfortable and secure. Is it really so?" Putin questioned, inviting top officials to give their considerations. While Putin did not name any names, some Russian lawmakers accused the United States of instigating Georgian authorities' action.
"Those who are doing that believe that anti-Russian course of foreign policy meets the Georgian people's interests. I don't think so," Putin said.
