Georgia Says Russia Sent Jets to Abkhazia

TBILISI, Georgia, Feb. 6 -- Georgia's foreign minister accused Russia on Friday of sending more than two dozen fighter jets to a base in the breakaway region of Abkhazia.

An Abkhaz defense official denied the claim, but indicated that Russian jets could be based there in the future. That drew a response from the State Department, which criticized any such planning for Russian bases in the region.

Moscow recognized Abkhazia as an independent nation following the war between Georgia and Russia in August.

Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze said 27 jets are now at the former Soviet airfield at Gudauta, which he said was a flagrant violation of a 1999 treaty on conventional forces in Europe. Vashadze said the deployment was clearly aimed against Georgia.

But Garry Kupalba, deputy defense minister of Abkhazia, denied there were any Russian jets at Gudauta and said the base has not been used since 1993.

The Abkhaz leadership was in discussions with Moscow about military cooperation, he said. "If a decision is made to establish an air base, we will announce it officially," Kupalba said in Sukhumi, the Abkhaz capital.

Russian officials could not be reached for comment Friday. A Russian news agency quoted an air force spokesman, Col. Alexander Drobyshevsky, as saying the Georgian comments were "irresponsible."

"No Russian military airplanes have been stationed either on the territory of Abkhazia or the territory of South Ossetia," Interfax quoted him as saying.

Nevertheless, the Obama administration said it regrets Russia's "expressed intention to establish bases" in either territory "as contrary to the spirit and the letter of Russia's existing commitments," State Department spokesman Robert A. Wood said.

His statement referred to a naval base at Ochamchire and army bases in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.