Russian military helicopters did not fly close to Georgia in past 24 hrs - Russian Defense Ministry
MOSCOW. Dec 10 (Interfax) - The Russian Defense Ministry rejected the statements of their Georgian counterparts about an alleged violation by a Russian military helicopter of Georgian airspace.
"Russian military helicopters executed no flights over the territory adjacent to the Georgian border over the past 24 hours. No wonder, the allegations made by representatives of the Georgian Ministry of Defense all day long yesterday were far from containing any indications of the places where Georgian airspace was allegedly incurred into," Russian Defense Ministry official Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov told Interfax on Thursday.
Only later, when the information emerged that an allegedly Russian military helicopter was seen near Mereti-Zardiaantkari, it turned out that the Georgian Ministry of Defense had learned about it from a 'word of mouth' (some local residents reported on this to a policeman), he said.
"We would recommend our Georgian counterparts to rely on the objective control data, including radar aids, before making such highlight statements," Konashenkov said.
Earlier on Thursday the Georgian Ministry of Defense claimed that on December 10, at 12:48, a Russian Mi-8 helicopter entered into Georgian airspace and flew over the police station in the village of Mereti in the Gori municipality. "This provocative act carried out against a sovereign nation is another case evidencing that the Russian federation neglects fundamental rules and principles of international law," the Georgian Foreign Ministry said.
