yasin_khan
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Georgia will build an anti-aircraft system giving it complete control of its airspace by the end of the year, Defense Minister Giorgy Baramidze said Sept. 20, after its northern neighbor Russia threatened to strike at terrorist bases beyond its borders.
"We intend to take total control of our airspace, and to that end we will build an anti-aircraft defense," he told reporters before boarding an overnight flight for Washington, where he is to meet U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
He did not say which system Georgia hoped to acquire, but he acknowledged that it could not afford state-of-the-art systems such as the U.S.-manufactured Patriot missiles.
Baramidze accused Russian aircraft of violating Georgian airspace twice in recent days, first on Sept. 16, when, he said, they flew over the Kodori Gorge, part of the breakaway province of Abkhazia which is outside government control. He said that Russian helicopters had violated Georgian airspace a second time on Sunday, by flying over the northern Chatili area, near the Georgian border with Chechnya.
The commander of the Russian air force, Vladimir Mikhailov, denied the allegation in remarks quoted by Interfax news agency, but admitted that his aircraft had flown over the mountainous area separating Georgia and Russia.
On Sept. 13, four days after 339 people were killed when Russian troops stormed a school where Chechen rebels had taken more than 1,000 hostages, President Vladimir Putin vowed to strike at terrorists beyond the country’s borders if necessary.
Russian officials have frequently accused Georgia of failing to prevent Chechen guerrillas moving through its territory to strike at targets in southern Russia.
Tbilisi has received U.S. military aid totaling $47 million (39 million euros) since early 2002, according to figures released by Washington.
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=363602&C=airwar
"We intend to take total control of our airspace, and to that end we will build an anti-aircraft defense," he told reporters before boarding an overnight flight for Washington, where he is to meet U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
He did not say which system Georgia hoped to acquire, but he acknowledged that it could not afford state-of-the-art systems such as the U.S.-manufactured Patriot missiles.
Baramidze accused Russian aircraft of violating Georgian airspace twice in recent days, first on Sept. 16, when, he said, they flew over the Kodori Gorge, part of the breakaway province of Abkhazia which is outside government control. He said that Russian helicopters had violated Georgian airspace a second time on Sunday, by flying over the northern Chatili area, near the Georgian border with Chechnya.
The commander of the Russian air force, Vladimir Mikhailov, denied the allegation in remarks quoted by Interfax news agency, but admitted that his aircraft had flown over the mountainous area separating Georgia and Russia.
On Sept. 13, four days after 339 people were killed when Russian troops stormed a school where Chechen rebels had taken more than 1,000 hostages, President Vladimir Putin vowed to strike at terrorists beyond the country’s borders if necessary.
Russian officials have frequently accused Georgia of failing to prevent Chechen guerrillas moving through its territory to strike at targets in southern Russia.
Tbilisi has received U.S. military aid totaling $47 million (39 million euros) since early 2002, according to figures released by Washington.
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=363602&C=airwar