Mamuka Areshidze doubts that terror acts in Georgia were organized by Russian special agencies

Experts in Georgia are actively discussing the arrest of six suspects of the autumn terror acts. According to Mamuka Areshidze, an expert in Caucasian matters, Russian security services are actively using residents of Abkhazia as their scouts in the territory of Georgia. A military expert Irakli Sesiashvili does not exclude that should the suspects' guilt be proved, a diplomatic scandal may burst out between the USA and Russia.

Today at a special briefing, Ekaterina Zguladze, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia, announced solution of a series of terror acts committed near the US Embassy in Tbilisi and noted that the explosions were committed under the order of Yevgeny Borisov, an officer of the Russian Army.

According to Ms Zguladze, six persons were detained as figurants of the case, including Gogita Arkaniya, a resident of the Gali District of Abkhazia, the alleged main performer of the explosions. Officials of the Georgian MIA report about confiscation from the house of one of the detainees of 13 explosive devices and a large amount of explosive (RDX, or hexogen).

Mamuka Areshidze told in his interview to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that in Abkhazia Russian security services are actively "recruiting local people for sabotage and intelligence activities against Georgia." The expert stated that "in the Ochamchira District, supposedly in the village of Ilori, an ideological subversive centre is working, which uses ethnic peculiarities of local residents."

As to involvement in the terror acts of Russian secret services, the expert was rather doubtful, since the attacks, as he said, were committed highly unprofessionally. However, he does not rule out that the explosions had the nature of preventive actions.

The military expert Irakli Sesiashvili said in a telephone conversation with the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the Russian party "will have to answer to Washington in connection with the explosions near the US Embassy in Georgia in late autumn of this year." Mr Sesiashvili supposed that after the investigation a diplomatic scandal may burst out between Russia and the USA.

So far, Russia and Abkhazia made no comments on the statement of the Georgian MIA.