Russia accused of attack

last updated 8 January 2015

Tbilisi, Georgia

Georgia accused Russia this week of dropping a missile on Georgian territory to create panic. President Mikhail Saakashvili said the missile, which did not explode, was fired from a Russian jet in Georgian airspace and landed in a town 40 miles from the Georgian capital. “All this provocation is aimed at stirring up panic to weaken the stability of Georgia and to change the country’s policies,” Saakashvili said. Russia promptly denied the charge. Relations between Russia and Georgia, a former Soviet republic, have been tense for years. Moscow was furious over Georgia’s 2003 “Rose Revolution,” which brought a pro-Western government to power. Tbilisi is angry at Russian support for separatists in Georgian regions.