Saakashvili Speaks of Russia's "Overreaction, Nervousness"
Civil Georgia, Tbilisi / 2 Oct.'06 / 10:27

President Saakashvili said on October 1 that Russian leader Vladimir Putin overreacted when he described the detention of four Russian military officers for alleged spying as an “act of state terrorism with hostage-taking.”

President Saakashvili was speaking with a group of western reporters, whom he met late on Sunday in Batumi.

"I don't think this is serious… It is an overreaction caused by nervousness that they have created by themselves," Saakashvili said, as quoted by Reuters.

"They have become hostages of their own propaganda," Saakashvili added.

He also said that he does not think Russia is “irrational enough to use military force."

Saakashvili also denied allegations by Putin that Georgia’s policy towards Russia might be orchestrated by some western powers.

"Some people could consider our action as something that has been coordinated by Washington. This is not true. The U.S. State Department made it very clear that this is a bilateral issue between Georgia and Russia," Saakashvili said.

Putin told his Security Council on October 1 that Georgian authorities “think that they can feel comfortable and secure under the roof of their foreign sponsors.”

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