Russian Foreign Ministry Says Reason For Crash Of Helicopter Carrying UN Mission In Georgia Was Policy Of Appeasement And Tolerance Pursued By Georgian Authorities Towards Terrorists

Russia's Foreign Ministry has said that the reason for the crash of a helicopter that carried a UN mission in Georgia was the policy of appeasement and tolerance pursued by Georgian authorities towards terrorists. This is said in a Russian Foreign Ministry statement received by RIA Novosti following the crash on Monday in the Kodor Gorge in Abkhazia of a helicopter with a UN monitoring mission in Georgia. Aboard the helicopter were 9 men. All of them were killed. Russia's Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov sent condolences to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the death of UN mission members. As is noted in the statement, the Russian side has repeatedly stressed that bandit groups acting in the territory controlled by Georgian authorities threaten the safety of mission personnel, civilians and servicemen of a CIS peacekeeping collective force in the zone of the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict. It was noted that subversive and terrorist activity by bandit groups threatens to destabilise all the situation in the area. The Russian side has repeatedly urged Georgian authorities immediately to cut short terrorist activity and has expressed readiness to give the Georgian side the required help in anti-terrorist measures. "But, unfortunately, Tbilisi has failed to act on this proposals," the statement says. "The policy of appeasement and tolerance pursued by Georgian authorities in relation to terrorists has again ended in a tragedy," the document indicates. In the Russian Foreign Ministry's opinion, the UN Security Council should pass its principled judgement on the existing situation in the light of an intensified threat of terrorism on the territory of Georgia in the zone of the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict. Moscow expressed hope that Tbilisi will ultimately take the necessary measures to eliminate groups of terrorists entrenched in the Kodor Gorge.