Shalva Natelashvili, the leader of the opposition Labor Party, has alleged that the Georgian authorities masterminded the August 6 air attack.

He said President Saakashvili’s administration hoped the incident would “shift attention of angry people from its evil doings to patriotic themes.”

He also said the authorities wished to start a war, which would help the Saakashvili administration to maintain power.

“Playing games with these bombs will one day result in a real Russian bombardment of our territory,” he added.

Kote Gabashvili, a lawmaker from the ruling National Movement party, who chairs the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, responded to the allegation, saying “Georgia had many traitors in its history.”