Unidentified person throws grenade at George W. Bush during his speech in Tbilisi

The grenade fell down about 30 meters far from the stage, on which Bush was standing

The Secret Service, which takes care of the American president's security is currently checking the information about the attempted assassination of George W. Bush in Tbilisi, the capital of the republic of Georgia, which the US president visited yesterday.

A spokesman for the Secret Service, Jonathan Cherry, told reporters Tuesday that Georgian authorities informed the Service that a certain item, supposedly a hand grenade, had been thrown in the direction of the tribune, at which George W. Bush was delivering his speech to the crowd of people on Tbilisi's Svoboda Square. According to the Georgian authorities, the grenade fell down about 30 meters far from the tribune, but it did not detonate. An agent of Georgian special services picked up the grenade and took it away, NBC said. The device was subsequently neutralized.

It is worth mentioning that Georgian authorities took all possible measures to guarantee safety to the US president. The stage, on which the Georgian and American presidents were standing, was covered with a special cap made of bullet-proof glass. Jonathan Cherry added that the Secret Service was informed about the incident when George W. Bush had already left the former Soviet republic of Georgia.

The FBI and the US Department of State started investigating the incident in Tbilisi too. Cherry added that Secret Service agents had not seen the grenade yet, Itar-Tass reported.

An official eyewitness said that the grenade was unpinned, but the explosion did not occur on account of unknown reasons. The Secret Service is currently sending its agents to Tbilisi, Georgia, to investigate the incident.

Gela Bezhuashvili, the Secretary of the Georgian Security Council is to release an official statement about an attempt against George W. Bush's life on Wednesday, RIA Novosti said.

Meanwhile, President Bush successfully returned to Washington and completed his European tour. In addition to Latvia, the Netherlands and Georgia, the US president visited Moscow, where he participated in Victory Day celebrations.