(Tbilisi, March 14, Civil Georgia) - "Many terrorists who have committed terrible crimes in the past and who operated in Chechnya are staying in Georgia now, and of course they are full of new plans for terrorist operations," Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov stated at the joint news conference with his American counterpart on March 13, Pentagon news service reports. 

Ivanov said that all that is taking place just 10 to 20 kilometers from the Russian state border, so "we cannot just sit and watch those activities indifferently".

"It's also required here in this case - and we have reached a mutual understanding with our U.S. counterparts on that issue - that most close cooperation is really required," Russian Defense Minister stated.