Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili insists that two Russian experts, who were refused entrance into Georgia on Tuesday, were closely working with the Russian special services.
Two experts who planned to hold a meeting with their Georgian colleagues on December 1-3 were refused entrance into the country at Tbilisi International Airport. They were expected to hold talks on Russian and Georgian relations and cooperation perspectives.
"The president stresses it is unacceptable for him that the state border is crossed by occupant forces and spies sent by Russian security services," said Manana Mandzhgaladze, a spokeswoman for Saakashvili.
She added that "in accordance with our information, these people are in close cooperation with the Russian secret services and actively support the occupation of the Georgian territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia."
When Nikolay Silayev, a senior researcher of the Center for Caucasian Research at Moscow State Institute of International Relations, and Sergei Mironenko, director of the State Archive, Moscow, were refused entry, the remaining members of the delegation decided to support them and flew back to Moscow via Yerevan, Armenia.
There are no direct flights between Russia and Georgia after diplomatic ties between the two countries were cut off following a five-day war in August 2008, which began when Georgian forces attacked South Ossetia in a bid to bring it back under central control.
Two weeks after the end of the war, Russia recognized the former Georgian republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states. Besides Russia, Nicaragua and Venezuela have also recognized the republics' independence.
TBILISI, December 2 (RIA Novosti)
