The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that it was recalling its ambassador to Tbilisi for consultations and was evacuating some embassy staff and all family members over safety concerns. The defense minister opened a new front in the war of words by accusing the Georgian authorities of acting like gangsters.
The Georgian leadership defended the Wednesday arrests, saying that they had been conducted in line with international law, and advised Moscow against imposing sanctions on the South Caucasus country over the increasingly acrimonious scandal. The interior minister also said he was willing to provide the press with audio and video recordings of the alleged spies in action.
Russia's move to recall its top diplomat in Tbilisi came amid a perception that there was an increasing security risk in the Georgian capital, which also prompted the withdrawal of non-essential mission staff.
"Due to the growing security threat to staff of Russian organizations in Georgia and members of their families, a decision has been made to begin their partial evacuation from the country," a ministry statement said. "The first Russian Emergencies Ministry flights to carry this out are scheduled for September 29."
On the same day, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said deputy foreign ministers from the two countries, Georgy Mandzhgaladze and Grigory Karasin, will meet in Moscow to discuss the growing furor.
But they will have their work cut out, as both sides have appeared to be sticking to their guns - albeit diplomatic ones.
Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said, "Gangsterism in Georgia has taken on a state scale. We have already issued warnings to [Russian] military officers and their families advising them to avoid going out."
Earlier in the day, he had accused Georgian law-enforcement agencies of assaulting seven Russian servicemen - one junior officer and six soldiers - when they sought to detain the Russians' car.
"They were beaten, their car and weapons were confiscated," said Ivanov, who is also a deputy defense minister, adding that the servicemen had later been released. A spokesman for the Georgian Interior Ministry said nothing of the kind had happened.
International law
Georgian President Mikheil Saakhashvili said the arrests had been made with due respect for international law.
"I will state again that the actions of Georgia's law-enforcement bodies were strictly in line with international law. Georgia intends to act in the future, in similar situations, just like all self-respecting countries, the U.S., United Kingdom and others," he said.
The president said he had already stated that the counter-intelligence services in the South Caucasus nation had information that foreign intelligence services were working in the country.
But he played down a decision made earlier Thursday by the Russian Foreign Ministry to evacuate some staff of its embassy in Tbilisi and their family members.
"There is nothing to threaten them in Georgia," he said. "There is no reason to call them back, no reason for this hysteria."
Georgian Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili said the suspects were conducting illegal intelligence-gathering in Georgia, and added that charges would be brought against them Friday. He also said he would provide the media with audio and video recordings of the alleged 'spies', conducting intelligence work.
"The files reliably show officers of Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate personally conducting intelligence activities, personally recruiting Georgian nationals and carrying out unlawful activities," Merabishvili told a briefing.
Russian officials dismissed the accusations yesterday night and demanded the release of the officers, who they said had been conducting routine work to ensure the withdrawal of two Soviet-era bases from Georgia.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin met Thursday with U.S. Ambassador to Moscow William Burns, and informed Washington of Russia's position on Georgia's actions.
Sanctions
In response to calls from some Russian politicians for economic sanctions against Georgia as a response to the spying scandal, the speaker of the Georgian parliament said Thursday that Russia has no right to impose such sanctions.
"International law does not recognize economic sanctions that are imposed in response to the detention of foreign citizens on suspicion of espionage," Nino Burdzhanadze told a news conference.
The vice-speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, said Thursday that Russia should halt oil and gas supplies to Georgia after its hostile act.
Nino Burdzhanadze said Russia should have studied the circumstances that led to the detention of Russian servicemen before making official threats against Georgia.
"It would have been better if Russia thoroughly studied the materials before making statements," the Georgian MP said.
She said the fact that Russia made these statements without making efforts to clarify the situation showed that it was either not interested in the evidence, nor aware of the truth, but nevertheless opted for political blackmail.
