Shevardnadze says Georgia will extradite Chechen gunmen to Russia

Georgia will fulfil its commitments before Russia and extradite the Chechen gunmen detained on its territory, said Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze at a briefing on Monday.

Georgian border guards detained thirteen armed Chechen gunmen in August, on their way from Chechnya. Georgia handed over five of them to Russia on October 4 and last week decided to extradite three others, though they were given the right to appeal in court against the decision of the Georgian General Prosecutor's Office. Shevardnadze denied the allegations that Tbilisi deliberately protracted the extradition procedure. According to him, "all formalities related to the extradition should be observed."