20 April 2010, 11:00
Russian seamen detained in Georgia to be fined by USD 37,000
Most likely, in the near future, the Russian ship detained by Georgian frontier guards on April 17 in the water area of the port of Batumi, will be fined by 65,000 laris (about 37,000 US dollars) for "polluting the water area of the Black Sea."
"Now, the inquiry clarifies all the details and the degree of responsibility," said Tea Patieshvili, head of the press service of Georgian frontier guards, as quoted by the "Echo of the Caucasus".
Let us note here that the interests of the Russian party are represented in Georgia by the section of Russia's interests at the Embassy of Switzerland, consisting of five diplomats. The "Time of News" quotes one of them. The diplomat expressed hope that the incident on April 17 "was just a usual navigation offence common in the marine practice," and Russian ship will be released after paying the fine.
