Georgia to U.N. Over Russian ‘Aggression'

TBILISI, Georgia — Georgia said yesterday that radar data proves Russian jets violated its airspace and fired a missile, and it urged the U.N. Security Council to hold an emergency meeting on the "act of aggression."

Tbilisi has accused Moscow of trying to destabilize the country and of backing separatists in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two regions that broke away from Georgia during wars in the 1990s. President Saakashvili, whose efforts to join the European Union and NATO have irked Moscow, has vowed to return the regions to central government control.

Georgia demanded that the U.N. Security Council take action. Charge d'Affaires Irakli Chikovani called the incident a violation of the U.N. charter and met with the Security Council president to seek an emergency meeting. The council president, Republic of Congo's deputy ambassador, Pascal Gayama, was expected to consult with other members today.

"The common sense is that the United Nations Security Council has to tackle this matter which has threatened peace and security in my country, and we call on the United Nations to conduct its own investigation," he added.

Defense Ministry spokesman Georgy Tatishvili said the Russian jet was probably aiming at a Georgian radar station.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said its mission in Georgia had confirmed that Georgian airspace was violated, but could not say how many and what kind of aircraft were involved. The mission also said it could not identify the missile.

General Marat Kulakhmetov, commander of Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia, said an unidentified aircraft dropped the missile after flying over South Ossetia and coming under fire from the ground. General Kulakhmetov suggested the plane came from Georgia.

Russia's Foreign Ministry suggested that Georgia had concocted the incident.

Sergei Mironov, the speaker of the upper house of Russia's Parliament, accused Tbilisi of fanning "anti-Russian hysteria" to deflect attention from domestic problems, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.

Georgia has accused Russia of backing separatists; Moscow, in turn, has accused Tbilisi of fomenting tensions in the rebel provinces. Georgia has repeatedly accused Russia of violating its airspace — claims Russia has invariably denied.

Earlier this year, Georgia said Russian helicopters fired on its territory in the Kodori Gorge, a volatile area on the fringe of Abkhazia.

The two nations exchanged accusations at the time, but a subsequent U.N. report said it was not clear who had fired at Georgian territory.