01 September 2008, 14:14
Lavrov: arms deliveries to Georgia should be embargoed
Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, who has already expressed his views on the desirability of Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili's voluntary retirement, has suggested introducing embargo on arms deliveries to Georgia until the power changes in this republic.
Let us note here that Mr Lavrov's statement was made on the eve of today's EU summit in Brussels. The sitting was convoked on the request of the delegation of Georgia in the context of Russia's decision on unilateral recognition of Abkhazia's and South Ossetia's independence.
"To begin with, it would be correct to set embargo on arms deliveries to this regime until other power transforms Georgia into a normal state," the RIA "Novosti" quotes the leader of Russian foreign policy who spoke at the Moscow State Institute of Foreign Relations.
According to "Interfax", Sergey Lavrov has also stated that further support by the USA and their allies of Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili's course can lead to a historical blunder.
Earlier, the Minister of Defence of Rumania admitted that Georgia bought arms in Rumania.
The "Caucasian Knot" has also reported that Russia's MFA had accused Ukraine of encouraging Georgia to intervention and ethnic cleansings in South Ossetia, "by arming the Georgian army to the hilt." The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Foreign Affairs have confirmed the facts of deliveries of Ukrainian arms to Georgia, but refuted the messages about participation of Ukrainian militaries in maintaining air defence complexes in the territory of Georgia during the conflict with Russia.
According to experts' data, apart from Ukrainian air defence means, Georgia received anti-missile complexes on the gratuitous basis from the USA and other NATO countries. Besides, Israel participated in modernizing Georgian air defence installations.
