Russian FSB (Federal Security Service, formerly known as KGB) has announced that it had thwarted the activities by a Georgian secret agent in Southern Russia. According to the Russian secret police official, the Georgian agent was allegedly coordinating the operations with the Mujahideen (Armed Forces) of the Caucasus Emirate.
Official representative of Georgian Interior Ministry (Georgian Federal Police) Shota Utiashvili called this statement "outright disinformation aimed at discrediting Georgia".
FSB nonetheless reported the details of the arrest and released the name of the "spy".
"Some time ago the activities of agent of Georgian secret special services, 34-year-old Kistinian Chechen, Ramzan Turkoshvili, citizen of Russia but native of Georgia, was thwarted on the territory of the Southern Federal Circuit," Russian FSB official told the journalists.
According to him, Turkoshvili was allegedly secretly recruited by Georgian special agents: someone named Zurab Okiashvili and Georgy with immediate participation of "Commander" Zelimkhan Hangashvili, who lives in the Pankisi Gorge.
The FSB official announced that Turkoshvili, who used to live in occupied Chechnya, has allegedly already made a "confessing testimony" about his work for Georgia's secret intelligence services.
The FSB claims that Turkoshvili was conducting "subversive activities on the Russian territory" on the assignment from Georgian intelligence services.
The FSB stated that the "Georgian spy" was supposed to "conduct a search" for Mujahideen on the territory of Ingushetia and other regions. According to the FSB version, the "spy" was looking for the Mujahideen in order to "finance them and to organize armed resistance".
"The agent was getting systematic monetary rewards in US dollars for completing the assignments. Some of the funds were handed to him in person, and some through Western Union money transfers," FSB official said.
Meanwhile Georgian authorities say that the statements made by the Russian security services are all false.
"It is quite obvious that the Russian side is once again trying to return to the so-called Pankisi subject, which was the case several years ago, when that region of Georgia was being bombed by Russian warplanes under the same pretext - that militants were allegedly hiding there," Mr. Utiashvili said.
He added that now the Pankisi Gorge is open to everyone, and there are no militants there whatsoever.
Chief of the Informational Analytical Service of the Emirate of Caucasus, Movladi Udugov, is quite skeptical about Moscow's statement on the capture of the "Georgian spy". According to Mr. Udugov, the FSB's story does not stand up to any serious criticism:
Why would Georgian intelligence services send a spy to Chechnya in order to "look for" Mujahideen, and reportedly to finance them, when they can at any time just make a telephone call and contact responsible representatives of the leadership of the Emirate of Caucasus, and establish direct ties with our command?
On the whole, the FSB's version sounds quite ridiculous even for a non-specialist. There is the impression that it was prepared by incompetent people, or in a too big of a hurry.
At the same time, this version is quite "edible" for an average Russian, and maybe therefore is meant for internal usage. The key words of the FSB's statement are: "Georgia", "spy", "American dollars", which are simple, understandable and which do not require any cerebral activity from the consumers of the Kremlin propaganda.
In fact, the Georgian leadership avoids any contacts with us in every possible way, because it has no permission for it from Washington. Even when the Georgians are in need of strategic information that we possess, they refrain from contacting us.
I have already said that Georgia is not an independent state. Georgia's destiny (including issues of war and peace) is not decided in Tbilisi, but in Washington and Moscow. Therefore I do not see any conditions for a "spy activity" by Georgians in Chechnya "in support" of the Mujahideen, until a decision is made in the White House or until Georgia is left alone with its problems without the US support, and still, provided that the country is led by a determined leader.
Kavkaz Center
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