Moscow Satisfied With Georgia's Decision To Extradite Russian Citizens Involved In Acts Of Terrorism To Russia

Moscow was satisfied with the Georgian authorities' decision to extradite to Russian law-enforcement bodies a group of Russian citizens suspected of involvement in acts of terrorism and detained last June with arms on Georgian territory. According to information from the Russian Foreign Ministry which RIA Novosti received on Thursday, Moscow hopes that "Russian-Georgian cooperation in combating the common enemy -- international terrorism -- will be effective and resultful." The document stresses that "the early investigation of authentic reports coming from various sources on the appearance of bandit formations including Chechens, on Georgian-controlled territory in the immediate vicinity of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict zone acquires particular acuteness in the light of the latest events." The presence of that group of terrorists on Georgian territory," believes the Russian Foreign Ministry, "poses a threat to the peaceful population, the personnel of the CIS collective peace-keeping forces deployed in the conflict zone, the staff of the UN Monitoring Mission in Georgia and is fraught with a general destabilization of the situation in the region." The Georgian authorities have to immediately check the activit! ! y of these terrorists, disarm them and extradite them to Russian law-enforcement bodies, stresses the document. The Russian Foreign Ministry also believes that "in the current situation it is becoming imperative to stop the activity on Georgia's territory of such structures linked with terrorists as the "mission" and "information centre" of Ichkeria. They are known to carry out coordinating functions in financing the extremists, transferring mercenaries and organizing deliveries of military equipment for gunmen and ensuring the propaganda cover for their criminal activities. The Russian side has called upon Tbilisi "to further deepen cooperation in the spirit of the provisions of UN Security Council resolution 1373 on erecting a barrier to terrorism, searching, extraditing and bringing to justice persons involved in acts of terrorism.