Convoy carrying Kaczynski, Saakashvili comes under fire

GEORGIAN PRESIDENT Mikheil Saakashvili has described an incident yesterday in which shots were allegedly fired at the convoy …

GEORGIAN PRESIDENT Mikheil Saakashvili has described an incident yesterday in which shots were allegedly fired at the convoy in which he and Polish president Lech Kaczynski were travelling as a "reminder" to European politicians that Russia is "brazenly violating" the peace plan brokered by the EU following the August war between Russia and Georgia.

No one was hurt when the two presidents reportedly came under fire during a tour of the disputed area of Akhalgori, which borders the breakaway region of South Ossetia. Russian troops have maintained a presence in the area since the end of the war, despite EU demands that they withdraw to their pre-war positions.

According to the speaker of the Georgian parliament, David Bakradze, the shots came from across the South Ossetian border.

Spokeswoman for the South Ossetian authorities Irina Gagloyeva denied South Ossetian responsibility for the shooting.

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"The South Ossetian side has nothing to do with it. There was no shelling from our side," she told Russian news agencies.

Georgian television showed what it said were pictures of the incident, for which Mr Saakashvili accused the Russians of being responsible. He told a briefing in Tbilisi after the alleged shooting that the incident had occurred near a Russian checkpoint in the Akhalgori region.

Describing Russian troops there as "occupiers", he said: "It seems they were not glad to see either me or our guest and, accordingly, expressed this in their own wild way."

The Russians have also denied responsibility for the alleged incident, which serves to highlight the continuing volatility of the situation in Georgia.

The war that broke out between Russia and Georgia on August 7th left hundreds dead and forced thousands to flee their homes.

Both sides continue to blame the other for the outbreak of hostilities.