Posted on 08/20/2008 12:02:02 AM PDT by maquiladora
Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia
On August 19, 2008, Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Colonel-General A. Nogovitsyn stated that the Russian peacekeepers had apprehended and disarmed twenty heavily armed Georgian paramilitaries, who were driving Hummer type five military vehicles (HAMVEE).
The above statement is slanderous and does not adequately reflect the real state of affairs.
After Russian military forces have left the territory of the Poti civilian seaport, on August 19, at 01:00 am, twenty Georgian military servicemen, armed with light weapons, were introduced there in order to control the perimeter of the port facility.
On August 19, at 08:30 am, a column of Russian heavy military vehicles once again invaded the Poti seaport, which is a private-owned facility, and the Russian military unit took hostage the Georgian soldiers deployed there.
During withdrawal from the facility, Russian soldiers took with them five Hummer type military vehicles, which belong to the Armed Forces of the United States and were prepared for transportation to the United States. The above vehicles were brought to Georgia back in July, as US side needed them for participation in the international training "Immediate Response-2008”.
When moving out from the seaport territory, the Russian militaries blindfolded and placed several Georgian military servicemen on the Russian military vehicles to use them as "live shields”.
Thus, the General Nogovitsyn’s statement, according to which the heavily armed Georgian paramilitaries were allegedly imprisoned on August 18, by the Russian military servicemen deployed at the Russian peacekeeping check-point, is absolutely false and misleading.
It should be stressed as well that the Poti seaport is located far beyond the area envisaged in the ceasefire agreement brokered by the President of France; as a matter of fact, the above facility is situated approximately 30 kilometers away from the administrative border of Abkhazian region and 160 kilometers away from the administrative border of so-called South Ossetia.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia strongly demands the Russian side to immediately release the illegally imprisoned Georgian military servicemen.
Russian scum.
Maybe Sarko can go get an agreement that the russians will give the soliders back really, really soon. Another Chamberlien moment in the making.
NATO won’t get involved because they have already punted on this entire conflict because Germany and France want cheap russian energy. They’ve given the new eastern european members a lesson in the way things are done in “old europe”.
UN is as worthless as usual.
Barbarian scum.
I find the terminology odd.
I thought soldiers were taken prisoner, not taken hostage.
Actually, the Russians have a history of using prisoners as hostages. It is a long read but you may find the following paper interesting: EVEN ONE IS TOO MANY: AN EXAMINATION OF THE SOVIET REFUSAL TO REPATRIATE LIBERATED AMERICAN WORLD WAR II PRISONERS OF WAR
http://www.aiipowmia.com/research/wadley.html
Appears that many thousands of Allied POWs imprisoned in Eastern Germany (and other Central European countries under Nazi control) were “liberated” by advancing Soviet forces and then subsequently disappeared without trace inside the Soviet Union.
If these Georgians are ever seen again, count them lucky.
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