"Nothing has been said to provoke such a reaction", Georgian state minister for settling conflicts Georgi Khaindrava told RIA Novosti in the telephone interview.
On Tuesday Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said that he has ordered opening fire and sending to bottom all vessels entering Abkhazia bypassing Tbilisi. He said: "I want Russian tourists to pay special attention to my words. If you are going to reach Abkhazia by boat from Sochi, put up with the fact last Saturday when Georgian border-guards opened fire at a vessel (Turkish)".
In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry warned: "Any attempts at doing harm to, more so encroaching on the life of Russian citizens, will be duly rebuffed". Moscow has called unprecedented the threats to "open fire at and sink all vessels" appearing off the coast of Abkhazia. "Such declarations show that Tbilisi is loosing idea of realities of the contemporary world", the ministerial communique reads.
"There have been no threats in the address of tourists", Khaindrava commented on the presidential declaration.
In his opinion, Mikhail Saakashvili has said, first, that all the vessels violating international law will get a due rebuff. On the other hand, he has warned tourists that they should not have a rest in the conflict zone.
"These two theses should not be combined and the conclusion that threats have sounded should not be made", the minister said.
The situation worsened after the Georgian border-guards shoot at the Turkish vessel making for Sukhumi without notifying the authorities of Georgia. In response, the leadership of the unrecognised republic of Abkhazia has declared withdrawal from the peace talks with Tbilisi.
"The Turkish ship has violated international law. Such incidents happen in many countries", Khaindrava said. "But, peace talks are not broken off and such declarations are not made with regard to concrete incidents of the kind".
Making assessment of the situation in general, Khaindrava said: "One thing has actually happened in recent time: the tone towards Georgia on the part of Russia and Abkhazia have changed and nothing more has happened".
Meanwhile, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov ranks the declaration of the Georgian president as countering the international law norms.
"I'm surprised at the declarations of the Georgian leadership regarding the sea expanses in the Black sea off the coast of Abkhazia. Generally speaking, it reeks of piracy and is across the lines of maritime law", Sergei Ivanov said.
