Russia Takes Emergency Measures To Consolidate Russian-Georgian Border

Russia has taken emergency measures along the entire Russian-Georgian border, particularly on its Abkhaz sector, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said in the Federation Council, or the upper house of parliament. According to him, Russia is very much concerned about the situation in Abkhazia, self-proclaimed republic within Georgia. "We deny double standards in the struggle against terrorism," Ivanov said. Being pressurized by the international community, Tbilisi is trying to simply oust militants from one region to another. These efforts will lead to "nothing but deplorable results we have already faced," Ivanov stressed. A major grouping of Chechen and Georgian fighters invaded Abkhazia last week. They shot down a UN mission helicopter killing 14 people in the Gulripsh district. Several villages in the Kodor Gorge, the zone of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, came suffered air strikes Tuesday. Abkhazia claims strikes were dealt by Georgia, something Tbilisi denies.