2007年VOA标准英语-Russia Accused of Missile Firing in Georgian Ai

The former Soviet¹ republic of Georgia is accusing Russia of firing a missile inside its air space. The weapon apparently² did not explode, but as VOA correspondent Peter Fedynsky reports from Moscow, the incident again raises tensions between Georgia and Russia.

Georgia called in the Russian ambassador to Tbilisi to protest the alleged³ missile firing and violation⁴ of Georgian airspace. A representative of the country's Interior Ministry⁵, Shota Utiashvili, told VOA that two Russian planes flew about 60 kilometers into Georgian airspace. He says the missile landed near the village of Tsitelubani, 60 kilometers from the capital, Tbilisi.

"The missile," says Utiashvili, "landed about 30 meters from the home of a local resident and created a narrow hole about five-meters deep, but there were no casualties," he said.

Officials in Russia strongly deny the Georgian accusations⁶.

There were no Russian military flights in the area all day Monday, nor were there any in the evening, overnight or on Tuesday morning," said Colonel Alexander Drobyshevsky, a spokesman for the Russian air force. "The border of the sovereign state of Georgia was not violated."

Interior Ministry spokesman Utiashvili says the planes flew at high altitude and their markings were not visible from the ground. But Georgian Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili says the planes were identified as Sukhoi-24 attack aircraft, which entered Georgian airspace from Russia late Monday.

investigators7 looking at the hole allegedly left by a rocket fired from a Russian warplane in Gori, South Ossetia, 07 Aug 2007" hspace="2" src="http://www.tingroom.com/upimg/allimg/070811/0925230.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Russian NTV channel Television grab shows Georgian investigators looking at the hole allegedly left by a rocket fired from a Russian warplane in Gori, South Ossetia, 07 Aug 2007

Georgian officials are studying the site where they say the missile landed, which was shown on television with debris⁸ that had Cyrillic lettering.

The alleged missile firing occurred near the rebel Georgian province of South Ossetia. Officials there are blaming Georgia for staging the missile launch in an effort to discredit⁹ Russia. Georgian leaders accuse Moscow of supporting South Ossetian separatists.

Relations between Tbilisi and Moscow have become steadily¹⁰ worse since the 2003 election of Georgian President Mikhail Shaakashvilli, a pro-Western leader who is seeking closer ties with NATO.