Ukraine keeps rearming Georgia - Russian Deputy FM

MOSCOW, August 6 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory
Karasin believes that Ukraine continues arming Georgia.
"There's irrefutable evidence that Ukraine continues its arms
supplies. They are trying to hide behind various wordings of offensive or
non-offensive weapons. Some types of weapons cannot really be called
offensive. But an army, which has plenty of these weapons definitely
becomes more aggressive. They won't get away with these tricks," Karasin
said an interview published by the Izvestia daily on Thursday.
He noted that Russia was conducting a direct dialogue with countries
that were still rearming Georgia. "We make it clear to them that we will
take account of this factor in the general context of bilateral
relations," Karasin went on to say and added that economic sanctions were
possible.
"We don't what things to aggravate that far. The main thing that we
are seeking is that people take a responsible approach to arms deliveries
to explosive regions," Karasin stressed.
He also expressed the hope that the Americans would be more cautious
in supporting Saakashvili's regime.
"We constantly exchange views with our partners from the United
States. I can assure you that the tonality is changing. There's no blind
support for the present Georgian authorities. There's understanding that
coercive actions are inadmissible in international relations and that this
kind of policy leads to a deadlock," Karasin explained.
He confirmed that Russia hadn't and didn't have plans to annex
Abkhazia and South Ossetia. "We favor the development of stable relations
in south Caucasus. We are helping Tskhinval and Sukhum to develop their
economies, the social sphere and education. This year alone Russia will
render 8.5 billion roubles worth of financial aid to South Ossetia. We've
also pledged to protect the security of these countries," Karasin said.

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