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#12 - JRL 6476
Russia, Georgia Try to Reconcile
October 6, 2002
By JUDITH INGRAM
CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze expressed regret Sunday for the gulf of suspicion between their countries and reassured one another that their real goal was to combat terrorism, not undermine their neighbor.
The two leaders were meeting for the first time since a war of words broke out this summer over the presence of Chechen rebels and other militants in northern Georgia, on the Russian border. The quarrel, years in the making, came to a head after dozens of alleged Chechen rebels broke through the border and battled Russian border guards, killing eight.
``Everything we have done was aimed against bandits hiding in Georgia, never against Georgia itself,'' Putin told Shevardnadze in Moldova ahead of a presidential summit.
``I entirely agree with you that we must put an end to terrorism,'' Shevardnadze responded, adding that he expected he and Putin would achieve a ``breakthrough'' in relations over the next day.
The conciliatory tone at the beginning of the meeting was in stark contrast to the increasing anger expressed in Moscow and Tbilisi.
Putin and his subordinates have threatened repeatedly to unleash airstrikes on Georgian territory, accusing Tbilisi of abetting terrorists. In turn, Shevardnadze's aides have accused Moscow of using the anti-terrorist campaign as a ruse to destabilize its southern neighbor.
The encounter was one of a long series of bilateral meetings on the eve of the annual presidential summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Monday's summit in the Moldovan capital Chisinau is intended to cement former Soviet republics' commitment to joint crime-fighting and hammer out a common position on Iraq - as well as to quiet the conflicts that simmer between the Commonwealth's member-states.
Envoys were to discuss the prospects for creating an anti-terrorist center in Central Asia and fostering cooperation in strengthening their porous borders, Russia's ITAR-Tass news agency reported, citing Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov's spokeswoman Tatiana Razbash.
Those discussions could be motivated in part by Russia's desire to win back influence in Central Asia, where the United States has stationed troops as part of the anti-terrorist campaign.
ITAR-Tass reported that Russia was also seeking agreement for a policy of no direct or indirect involvement by Commonwealth states in a possible U.S.-led military operation against Iraq.
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