A Georgian officer was killed not far from the positions of Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia Wednesday and the Georgian Foreign Ministry said later in a statement that the death of the policeman proved that Russia was not fulfilling its obligations under the ceasefire agreement between Russia and Georgia.
"Comparing what I have seen at the scene and what I have heard from Georgian police officers with what the Georgian Foreign Ministry said, I can only say that it is either a poorly prepared provocation or the ministry lacks some facts and is lying to the whole world," Marat Kulakhmetov, the commander of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in South Ossetia, said.
He said that those in the ministry who were accusing the Russians of opening fire on the Georgian checkpoint were unaware that it was impossible to attack the post with small arms due to the peculiarities of the location.
Georgian police say the officer was killed in a shootout outside the village of Karaleti, located in the buffer zone near South Ossetia, where Russia has maintained a security presence since the recent conflict with Georgia.
The Georgian officer was reportedly killed at a police post 300 meters from Russian peacekeeping positions.
"Georgian police showed us an abandoned detached house, and said people reportedly wearing masks fired shots from there," a Russian peacekeeper said earlier in an interview with RIA Novosti.
As soon as the report was received, Russian peacekeepers combed the area but found no one, he said. Peacekeepers on duty at the time of the alleged attack did not hear shots.
The peacekeeper said Georgian police have yet to present the officer's body.
Russia pledged on Monday to pull all remaining forces out of the Georgian buffer zone within a month, on the condition that the country's leadership takes on a legally binding commitment not to use force against South Ossetia and Abkhazia, rebel regions that have both been recognized as independent by Russia.
