Haaretz Top Russian general: Israel armed, trained Georgia forces

Israel supplied Georgian military forces with elite training and arms, a top Russian general was quoted as saying on Tuesday, as Russia and Georgian forces exchanged prisoners of war in a goodwill gesture.

Russian Deputy Chief of General Staff Col.-Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn said Israel had supplied arms to Georgia, delivering weapons systems including eight types of unmanned aircraft and about 100 anti-tank mines, AFP reported on Tuesday.

Israeli special forces also helped train Georgian military intelligence units, he said.

"In 2007, Israeli experts trained Georgian commandos in Georgia and there were plans to supply heavy weaponry, electronic weapons, tanks and other arms at a later date, but the deal didn't work out," Israeli media quoted Nogovitsyn as saying.

Reiterating previous allegations that foreign forces assisted Georgia in its conflict with Russia, Nogovitsyn said three Arabs had been caught dressed as Georgian soldiers near the Black Sea port of Poti.

"Twenty soldiers in Georgian uniform were detained near Poti. Three of them were Arabs," he said without elaborating.

The general also said Georgian military forces are not returning to their permanent bases as required under the terms of a ceasefire agreement.

"Despite the fact that Mr. (Mikheil) Saakashvili has signed the six-point plan and agreed to withdraw Georgian forces to their permanent bases, this condition has not been fulfilled," said Nogovitsyn, referring to the Georgian president.

Nogovitsyn questioned whether the political authorities in Tbilisi had full control over Georgian military forces in the field.

Referring to his assertion that not all Georgian forces had returned to their permanent bases, he said: "Such actions... seriously complicate the general situation and impede the withdrawal process."

Russian and Georgian forces exchanged prisoners on Tuesday in a mutual gesture of goodwill, despite continued tension over Russia's promised withdrawal from positions in Georgia, the head of Georgia's National Security Council said Tuesday.

"The process went smoothly. It was mediated by the French ambassador," Alexander Lomaia said.

The handover included at least one Russian pilot shot down by Georgian forces, an eyewitness said. Two Russian helicopters arrived and ambulances were on the scene. Several people were carried on stretchers.

A Georgian government official said Tbilisi had handed over five Russian servicemen, including two pilots, in exchange for 15 Georgians, including two civilians.

It is not clear how many prisoners each side holds.

"We waited for Georgia's agreement to carry out the swap for 24 hours and we received it not long ago," Igor Konashenkov, a senior Russian ground force official, told the Interfax news agency in Tskhinvali, the capital of the breakaway region of South Ossetia.

Russian forces on Tuesday maintained positions deep inside Georgia proper, despite Moscow's vow to begin withdrawing its troops on Monday.

The partial occupation followed a brief war between Russian and Georgian forces in South Ossetia, after Russia rolled tanks and troops over its southern border to repel an assault by Georgia to retake Tskhinvali from pro-Moscow separatists.

NATO: Cooperation with Russia tied to troops vow

Meanwhile, NATO allies warned Russia on Tuesday that the alliance's
cooperation with Moscow will depend on the pullout of troops from Georgia. They insisted the tiny Caucasus nation remains on track to join NATO despite Moscow's opposition.

"There can be no business as usual under present circumstances," said NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

The allies will not hold meetings of the NATO-Russia Council - as Russia
requested a week ago - as long as Russian troops remained in Georgia, de Hoop Scheffer added.

In response, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticized NATO, saying the alliance is pursuing anti-Russian policies and supporting an aggressive Georgia.