"Some people in the opposition ask us why we did not shoot down the Russian aircraft that violated our airspace," Mikheil Saakashvili said at a meeting with students. "I would like to respond categorically that we are not in a state of war with Russia."
Georgia's Defense Ministry earlier said it had proof that a Russian Su-24 Fencer tactical bomber violated Georgia's airspace Monday and fired a Raduga Kh-58 (NATO codename AS-11) anti-radar missile at a Georgian radar near a village 65 kilometers (about 40 miles) northwest of the Georgian capital and near the border with breakaway South Ossetia.
The 640-kilogram (1,400-pound) missile did not explode, but has further fueled tensions between the former Soviet allies, whose relations have been strained ever since the pro-Western Saakashvili came to power on the back of the so-called "rose revolution" in early 2004.
"We have no plans to wage war against Russia," the Georgian leader said. "Instead, I propose cooperating with Russia on security issues and resolving existing problems together."
Saakashvili reiterated that the Georgian leadership was pursuing the country's development and its integration into the European Union and NATO as its primary goals.
Meanwhile, Russia has vehemently repudiated involvement in the Monday incident, demanding a thorough probe and saying it was "a new provocation" staged by Tbilisi to thwart the peace process in the region.
The Russian Air Force Chief of Staff said Thursday Georgia's accusation that Russia violated its airspace was "political speculation."
Georgian experts are insisting that it was a Russian-made anti-radar guided missile and that the country has no Su-24 planes in service with the Georgian Air Force.
However, the commander of joint peacekeeping forces in the Georgia-South Ossetia conflict zone said that peacekeepers could not identify a missile allegedly dropped by a Russian plane because Georgia hurried to destroy it.
