Russia's Interior Ministry Refutes Information That Additional Troops Were Brought Into Karachay-circassia

The Russian Interior Ministry has refuted information spread by some mass media on Friday alleging that additional interior troops were brought into Karachay-Circassia (a republic in the Northern Caucasus). Vasily Panchenkov, head of the press service of the interior troops of the Russian Interior Ministry, declared that the information that additional units of interior troops and more than 50 units of armored equipment were brought into the republic do not correspond to reality. He noted that the socio-political situation in Karachay-Circassia did not deteriorate in connection with the events in the Kodori Gorge in the zone of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict. Panchenkov said that the Interior Ministry forces and means which are on the territory of the republic ensure protection of public order and public security. "Should the situation on the Russian-Georgian stretch of the border deteriorate, some permanently deployed military units of the North Caucasian district of Russia's interior troops have set aside and trained reserves for operation in specific sectors," stressed Panchenko.