The 2007 Georgia

Georgia (country)

Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

 missile incident refers to the landing of a missile in the Georgian

Georgia (country)

Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

 village of Tsitelubani in the Gori district near the Georgian-Ossetian conflict

Georgian-Ossetian conflict

The Georgian–Ossetian conflict refers to the ethno-political conflict in Georgia's autonomous region of South Ossetia, which evolved in 1989 and developed into a 1991–1992 South Ossetia War. Despite a declared ceasefire and numerous peace efforts, the conflict remains unresolved, and minor armed...

 zone, some 65 km (40.4 mi) north-west of Tbilisi

Tbilisi

Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...

, the capital of Georgia, on August 7, 2007. Georgian officials said that two Russian combat aircraft violated its airspace and fired a missile, which fell on the edge of a village but did not explode. Russia denied this allegation and said that Georgia may have fired the missile on its own territory as a way of provoking tensions in the region. Several expert teams were sent to Georgia to investigate the incident. While two international investigation teams confirmed Georgia's claims, the Russian team dismissed them. The OSCE stated that it was "extremely difficult to have a clear picture", given the conflicting nature of the experts' findings. The organization decided not to launch its own probe into the incident. The Portuguese

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 ambassador to the OSCE has issued a statement on behalf of the EU

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

, which refrained from supporting either Georgian or Russian version of the events.

Background

The missile incident occurred amids rising tensions between Georgia and Russia since the 2003 Rose Revolution

Rose Revolution

The "Revolution of Roses" was a change of power in Georgia in November 2003, which took place after having widespread protests over the disputed parliamentary elections...

, which brought Mikhail Saakashvili, a pro-western

Western world

The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...

 president to power. Among others, his wish for Georgia to join NATO

Georgia and NATO

Georgia and North Atlantic Treaty Organization relations officially began in 1994 when Georgia joined the NATO–run Partnership for Peace. Georgia has moved quickly following the Rose Revolution in 2003 to seek closer ties and eventual membership with NATO...

 and the EU

Georgia and the European Union

Georgia and the European Union have maintained relations for several years. With Georgia having recently undergone substantial reforms, President Mikhail Saakashvili has expressed his desire to see membership in the European Union as a long term priority...

, as well as seeking greater economic and military ties with the West, irked Russia as it marked a loss of Russian influence in the region. Since then, several crises, incidents and accusations have succeeded each other: the 2004 Adjara crisis, the 2006 North Ossetia sabotages

2006 North Ossetia sabotages

The 2006 North Ossetia pipeline explosions consisted of two explosions on the Mozdok–Tbilisi pipeline in North Ossetia on January 22, 2006.The explosions suspended gas supply to Georgia and Armenia, at a time when the weather conditions were particularly severe...

, the 2006 Russian ban of Moldovan and Georgian wines

2006 Russian ban of Moldovan and Georgian wines

The 2006 Russian import ban of Moldovan and Georgian wines began in late March 2006 and created a diplomatic conflict between the Republic of Moldova and Georgia on the one hand and Russia on the other...

, the 2006 Kodori crisis

2006 Kodori crisis

The 2006 Kodori crisis erupted in late July 2006 in Abkhazia's Kodori Gorge, when a local militia leader declared his opposition to the Government of Georgia, which sent police forces to disarm the rebels...

, the 2006 Georgian-Russian espionage controversy

2006 Georgian-Russian espionage controversy

The 2006 Georgian–Russian espionage controversy began when the Government of Georgia arrested four Russian officers on charges of espionage, on September 27, 2006...

 and the March 2007 Georgia helicopter attack incident

2007 Georgia helicopter attack incident

The 2007 Georgia helicopter incident refers to the accusation by Georgia that three Russian helicopters fired on March 11, 2007 on the Kodori Gorge, located in the only part of Abkhazia, a break-away autonomous republic in north-western Georgia, that at the time was still under Georgia's control...

.

Incident

Vano Merabishvili

Vano Merabishvili

Ivane Merabishvili is a Georgian politician who has served as the country’s Ministry of Internal Affairs since December 18, 2004...

, Georgia’s interior minister, said that two Sukhoi

Sukhoi

Sukhoi Company is a major Russian aircraft manufacturer, headquartered in Begovoy District, Northern Administrative Okrug, Moscow, famous for its fighters...

 attack aircraft entered Georgian airspace from Russia at 7.30 pm on August 7 and fired at least one air-to-surface missile

Air-to-surface missile

An air-to-surface missile is a missile designed to be launched from military aircraft and strike ground targets on land, at sea, or both...

 at the village of Tsitelubani. The missile left a 16-foot crater in a field but failed to detonate. Sapper

Sapper

A sapper, pioneer or combat engineer is a combatant soldier who performs a wide variety of combat engineering duties, typically including, but not limited to, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, demolitions, field defences, general construction and building, as well as road and airfield...

s later defused the missile.

Georgia

Georgian experts have identified the missile as a Soviet-designed Kh-58

Kh-58

The Kh-58 is a Russian anti-radiation missile with a range of 120 km. the Kh-58U variant was still the primary anti-radiation missile of Russia and her allies. It is being superseded by the Kh-31.-Development:...

 ARM

Anti-radiation missile

An anti-radiation missile is a missile which is designed to detect and home on an enemy radio emission source. Typically these are designed for use against an enemy radar, although jammers and even radios used for communication can also be targeted in this manner.- Air-to-Ground :Most ARM designs...

. The remains of the missile were destroyed by the Georgian authorities before its identity could be confirmed by the Joint Control Commission

Joint Control Commission for Georgian-Ossetian Conflict Resolution

Joint Control Commission for Georgian–Ossetian Conflict Resolution is a peacekeeping tool, operating in South Ossetia and overseeing the joint peacekeeping forces in the region....

. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said the incident was part of a pattern of Russian aggression against its neighbors and urged European states to condemn Moscow. Georgia claimed to have radar evidence proving that the invading aircraft flew in from Russia and said that the strike had aimed, unsuccessfully, at destroying radar equipment recently installed near the South Ossetian conflict zone. The Georgian experts suggested the pilot did not fire but jettisoned the missile and fled after friendly forces of South Ossetia mistakenly fired an anti-aircraft missile at his jet.

Former President of Georgia Eduard Shevardnadze

Eduard Shevardnadze

Eduard Shevardnadze is a former Soviet, and later, Georgian statesman from the height to the end of the Cold War. He served as President of Georgia from 1995 to 2003, and as First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party , from 1972 to 1985. Shevardnadze was responsible for many top decisions on...

, said that during his time in office, Russian jets on a regular basis bombed Georgian forces during the wars in the 1990s when Abkhazia

Abkhazia

Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...

 and South Ossetia

South Ossetia

South Ossetia or Tskhinvali Region is a disputed region and partly recognized state in the South Caucasus, located in the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic....

 broke from central government control. "I won't be revealing any great secrets if I say that that such violations of Georgia's air space and bombings were common during my presidency. But Russian forces never acknowledged any of this," Shevardnadze said.

The Georgian opposition politicians Salome Zourabichvili

Salome Zourabichvili

Salomé Zourabichvili is a Georgian politician, from 2004 to 2005 Foreign Minister of Georgia and a former diplomat in the French service. Currently she is the Coordinator of the Panel of Experts assisting the UN Security Council’s Iran Sanctions Committee.-Biography:Zourabichvili was born in...

 and Shalva Natelashvili suggested that the Georgian authorities might have been behind the incident, intended as a provocation.

On August 22, after the conclusions of the two international and the Russian investigations (see below), Georgia's UN ambassador, Irakli Alasania

Irakli Alasania

Irakli Alasania is a Georgian politician and former diplomat. He was Georgia’s Ambassador to the United Nations from September 11, 2006, until December 4, 2008. His previous assignments include Chairman of the Government of Abkhazia and the President of Georgia’s aide in the Georgian-Abkhaz talks...

, accused Russia of attempting to "intimidate Georgia and assess Georgian military readiness." He further added that Georgia had to "take an absolutely resolute and non-negotiable stance in the face of efforts to use military force to destabilize a democratic state, and to attempt to influence its domestic and foreign policy".

South Ossetia

South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity

Eduard Kokoity

Eduard Dzhabeyevich Kokoity is the de facto President of South Ossetia.-Early life:Eduard Kokoity was born on 31 October 1964 in Tskhinvali, in the Georgian SSR, a part of the Soviet Union at the time. Kokoity was a member, and champion, of the Soviet Union's national wrestling team...

 described the incident as "a provocation staged by the Georgian side, aimed at discrediting Russia", claiming that another bomb fell in South Ossetia. In his words, "a Georgian military plane crossed into South Ossetia on Monday, performed manoeuvres above Ossetian villages and dropped two bombs." On August 9, 2007, South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity

Eduard Kokoity

Eduard Dzhabeyevich Kokoity is the de facto President of South Ossetia.-Early life:Eduard Kokoity was born on 31 October 1964 in Tskhinvali, in the Georgian SSR, a part of the Soviet Union at the time. Kokoity was a member, and champion, of the Soviet Union's national wrestling team...

 announced that he intends to request that Russia deploys air-defense systems in the republic, to discourage any such future incidents.

Russia

Russia also denied the Georgian claim. Later that day, Russia's foreign ministry said that Georgian jets may have fired the missile on their own territory as a way of provoking tensions in the region and derailing a session of the Joint Control Commission on Georgian-South Ossetian Conflict Resolution. Georgia immediately denounced the claim as absurdity.

Pavel Akulyonok, a Russian Air Force

Russian Air Force

The Russian Air Force is the air force of Russian Military. It is currently under the command of Colonel General Aleksandr Zelin. The Russian Navy has its own air arm, the Russian Naval Aviation, which is the former Soviet Aviatsiya Voyenno Morskogo Flota , or AV-MF).The Air Force was formed from...

 engineer working for the Russian team investigating the incident, said that "the Georgian side has forged facts". He said many parts of the missile which usually remain after an impact could not be found.

Other

The U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Matthew Bryza

Matthew Bryza

Matthew James Bryza is a United States diplomat. Currently serves as the United States Ambassador to Azerbaijan.-Education:...

 rejected the Russian allegations, advising Moscow to tone down its rhetoric on Georgia. European Commission spokeswoman Christiane Hohmann urged Georgia and Russia to show restraint and said it is not possible to further comment on the incident until the full facts are known. She added a team from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is looking into the affair. The OSCE has also appealed for both sides to show restraint.

Adrian Blomfield reported in The Daily Telegraph

The Daily Telegraph

The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...

that some commentators suggested that a group of Kremlin hardliners were intent on provoking a military confrontation to provide an excuse to change the Russian constitution

Russian constitution

Russian constitution* Constitution of Russia* Russian Constitution of 1906* Russian Constitution of 1918* Russian Constitution of 1978* Judiciary of Russia...

 and allow Russian president Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...

 to stay in power. Alexei Malashenko, an expert on the Caucasus

Caucasus

The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...

 at the Moscow Carnegie Centre, said it was possible that this faction had ordered the firing of a dummy

Dummy

Dummy may refer to:*Military dummy:**dummy round—a cartridge that is inert, i.e. contains neither primer nor gunpowder**decoy—fake military equipment intended to deceive the enemy...

 missile in a bid to fuel the crisis. But he said it was more likely that the missile attack could have been carried out by local Russian army units without the knowledge of the Russian government.

Stratfor

Stratfor

Strategic Forecasting, Inc., more commonly known as STRATFOR, is a global intelligence company founded in 1996 in Austin, Texas by George Friedman who is the founder, chief intelligence officer, and CEO of the company...

, a private intelligence agency based in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 speculates that "considering regional developments in the past few weeks, this "bomb" was far more likely a Georgian ploy than a Russian one. (And it is even more likely that it was accidentally dropped by an under-loved and under-maintained Georgian aircraft rather than deliberately targeted.)".

OSCE report

According to the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the OSCE spokeswoman in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, the OSCE mission reported "one aircraft flying from north-east" though the report has not yet been publicly released. The spokeswoman stressed that it was "an internal report that does not represent the position of the OSCE". The Georgian state minister Davit Bakradze added that "there is no other country than Russia to the north-east."

On August 17, 2007, OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, appointed Croatian diplomat and ex-minister Miomir Žužul

Miomir Žužul

Miomir Žužul is a Croatian diplomat and politician.-Education:Žužul obtained a doctorate in psychology at the University of Zagreb in 1987 as well as a doctorate in conflict management at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University...

, "to be his personal representative in a mission to Georgia

Georgia (country)

Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

 on (a) missile incident that took place on 6 August," alleged to be a Russian missile strike on Georgian territory. Žužul will reportedly travel to Georgia and the Russian Federation early on the week of August 20. He will reportedly be joined by the Charge d´Affaires of the Spanish Permanent Mission to the OSCE, Arturo Perez Martinez.

On August 30, The OSCE's chairman-in-office, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos

Miguel Ángel Moratinos

Miguel Ángel Moratinos Cuyaubé is a Spanish diplomat and politician, a member of the Socialist Workers' Party and member of Congress where he represents Córdoba....

, met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. The ministers discussed among others the missile incident and Moratinos outlined the contents of the report prepared by his special envoy Žužul on meetings he had the week before in Moscow and Tbilisi. The report, which is not yet publicly available, will be presented by Žužul at the OSCE Permanent Council meeting in Vienna on September 6. An OSCE spokesman said that "the key point here is that it's not the OSCE's role to pass judgment, or point the finger. It's to listen to all sides, and to recommend and seek ways to avoid similar incidents and tensions in the future. So this is not about trying to establish who was responsible, or what exactly happened, but to look to the future to try to find ways to ensure that this kind of thing does not happen again."

On September 6, 2007, a months after the incident, a closed-door OSCE Council session was held. Julie Finley, the US ambassador to the OSCE, dismissed the report of the Russian experts and called for the OSCE to launch its own investigation. This motion was not supported by Žužul; there will be no OSCE probe into the incident. Instead, the organization will focus on preventing similar incidents in the future, promptly intervening in the event of a crisis.

UN Security Council

The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs tried to secure the holding of a UN Security Council session to discuss the incident and to encourage the international involvement into the investigation of the attack. Former Georgian president Shevardnadze dismissed efforts to involve the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

, as Russia would use its veto as a permanent member of the Security Council

United Nations Security Council

The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...

 to thwart any real investigation or criticism.

On August 16, the United States, which backed Georgia's call for a special session, attempted to have the Security Council issue a statement on the alleged incident. Russia, however, blocked the move, calling it "premature."

International investigation

On August 15, the group of defense specialists from the United States, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, Latvia

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

, and Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

, involved in the international investigation at Georgia's request, released their findings in Tbilisi. The group confirmed that the plane flew from Russia into Georgian airspace and back three times and described the missile as a Russian-designed KH-58, which is intended to take out radar systems. The team added that Georgian Air Force

Georgian Air Force

The Georgian Air Force is the air arm of the Georgian Armed Forces. Currently, it has 2,971 military and civilian personnel, fixed wing aircraft , helicopters of different types and air defense missiles of the "surface-to-air" class. The Air Force was founded in 1991 in the wake of the break-up...

 "does not possess aircraft equipped with or able to launch" that missile.

A team of Russian investigators also arrived in Georgia on August 16 to conduct its own probe. Speaking at a news conference in Tbilisi, Russian ambassador Valery Kenyaikin said on August 16 that Moscow did not find the evidence of the international team convincing. He also said the Russian team presented evidence that refuted the team's findings, commenting that: "The documents handed to the Georgian side show - and I hope prove - the absence of any information or elements [of information] testifying to the violation of Georgian airspace by Russia." A Russian Air Force

Russian Air Force

The Russian Air Force is the air force of Russian Military. It is currently under the command of Colonel General Aleksandr Zelin. The Russian Navy has its own air arm, the Russian Naval Aviation, which is the former Soviet Aviatsiya Voyenno Morskogo Flota , or AV-MF).The Air Force was formed from...

official also claimed that Georgian authorities presented the Russian investigators with parts of several different missiles, some of which had traces of rust on them.

An envoy appointed by the OSCE to investigate the incident met Georgian officials in Tbilisi, and traveled to Moscow.

A group of experts from Britain, Poland, and Estonia corroborated the results of the previous international investigation that a military jet illegally entered its airspace from Russia and dropped or jettisoned a missile before flying back to Russia.