Georgian spy plane shot down

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Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Georgia

Other stories from Georgia

• 30 June 2008: Abkhazia to close border with Georgia following bomb blasts
• 22 April 2008: Georgian spy plane shot down
• 18 April 2008: Putin orders Russian government to normalize relations with Georgia
• 3 April 2008: NATO summit in Bucharest enters second day
• 26 March 2008: Ukraine refused Moldova in extradition of Malhaz Djaparidze and liberated him

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Map of Abkhazia

Officials in Georgia have alleged that a Russian fighter jet shot down a Georgian spy plane on Sunday. Colonel David Nairashvili of Georgia's air force told Associated Press that the spy plane recorded video of a Russian fighter before it was downed.

According to the foreign ministry of Russia, Abkhaz rebels shot down the Georgian spy plane with anti-aircraft weapons. The statement said that President Vladimir Putin expressed "bewilderment" that Georgian sent a spy plane into that area, which it said was in violation of a 1994 cease-fire agreement.

Georgia countered that the video, which they have released, shows a MiG-29, which is not in the arsenal of the Abkhaz seperatists. They say that it must, then, be Russian and violating Georgian airspace. Abkhazia is still part of Georgia.

"It's a Russian aircraft. Georgia does not possess it, nor do Abkhaz separatists," Nairashvili said. "It's absolutely illegal for a Russian MiG-29 to be there."

In the statement by the foreign ministry of Russia, it said that the aircraft "was shot down by Abkhaz anti-aircraft weapons." A statement was also released by a general from the Russian air force. He claimed that "the Russian air force has nothing to do with this. That's not our business."

The president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, said that he spoke with Vladimir Putin about the incident on Monday, asking him to stop Russian backing of seperatists in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Garry Kupalba, the deputy defence minister of Abkhazia disputed Georgia's account. He said the spy plane was shot down by one of its L-39 jets, of which the Abkhazian military has several. He further said that Georgia was violating United Nations resolutions regarding Abkhazia by sending in the spy plane which he identified as a Hermes 450 drone.

However, military experts consulted by The New York Times and Associated Press, both say that the video shows a distinct twin-tail jet that closely resembles a MiG-29, though the markings could not be read. The L-39 has a single tail.

Sources

Learn more about Abkhazia and Georgian-Abkhazian conflict on Wikipedia.

• Associated Press "Georgia accuses Russia of downing spy plane". CNN, April 22, 2008
• "Abkhaz rebels shot down Georgian spy plane: Russia". AFP, April 22, 2008
• "Georgia Says Russia Downed Spy Plane". The Christian Science Monitor, April 22, 2008
• "Russia 'shot down Georgia drone'". BBC News Online, April 21, 2008 (VIDEO)

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