MOSCOW, June 22 (RIA Novosti) - Another potential scandal hit Russian-Georgian relations Thursday when a Georgian multipurpose transport helicopter was impounded in southern Russia after allegedly crossing the border illegally.
The Russian Air Force said the Mi-8 Hip helicopter had entered the airspace of the North Caucasus republic of North Ossetia at 1:27 p.m. Moscow Time (9.27 a.m. GMT) but was released at 6:10 p.m. (2:10 p.m. GMT)
"The Mi-8 helicopter crossed Russia's airspace ... without notification and permission," said Alexander Drobyshevsky, head of the Air Force press service.
But a transport police source said the crew of the helicopter, carrying senior Georgian frontier officers to Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia, had asked for a stopover in Beslan, a town known for a bloody terrorist school siege in 2004.
The source did not elaborate on the reasons for the stop.
