PRESS RELEASE

At the Georgian side's initiative, an official UN Security Council meeting was held on May 30 to discuss the report of the UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) on its investigation of the air incident over Abkhazia on April 20.

The aim of this Tbilisi undertaking was to lay responsibility on Russia for the downing of a Georgian unmanned spy plane and thus cast shadow on the peacekeeping role of our country in efforts to resolve the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict.

But the attempt by Georgians to stage in the Security Council another "post-flight review" with the condemnation of Russia failed again. The Americans had defended the Georgian position more actively than others. The rest of the speakers were more restrained, laying emphasis on the importance of strengthening the monitoring capabilities of UNOMIG and of restoring Georgian-Abkhaz dialogue as soon as possible. A number of Council members did not participate in the debate at all.

The representative of Russia set out our position on the incident in a clear and well-argued way. Russia proceeds on the assumption that the numerous flights of Georgian UAVs in the sky over Abkhazia are gross violations of the 1994 Moscow Agreement on the ceasefire and separation of forces, and run counter to the provisions of UNSCR 1808. Characteristically, the UNOMIG report considers that the flights of Georgian spy planes are a military activity contrary to the Moscow Agreement. Russia urges the Georgians to cease these provocative flights, undeviatingly fulfill their obligations and follow the insistent appeals of the UNSC in this connection.

At the Council meeting we also stressed that what had happened was exclusively a subject of bilateral relations between Georgia and Abkhazia and therefore, without the participation of the Abkhaz side, a consideration of the question of the downed drone could not be objective and comprehensive. As to the technical conclusions made in the report of UN specialists, a whole array of "facts" cited by them of the Russian Air Force's involvement in the air incident cause us to doubt their authenticity. Russia insists that Tbilisi and UNOMIG present all the investigation materials to it. We have declared readiness to carry out, with the engagement of foreign experts, our own serious, not a one-sided and short-lived investigation. Only in this case is it possible to expect that the truth about the April 20 incident will be established.

May 31, 2008