Russian troops not heading to Tbilisi - Russia

Russia Today
Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Russia has officially denied reports its troops have entered Georgian territory beyond the conflict zone, in breach of the ceasefire agreement. Throughout the day, major international news channels have been reporting that Russian tanks were in the Georgian town of Gori and heading towards the capital Tbilisi.

Throughout the conflict, the Georgian leadership has been waging a media war against Russia. There have been a number of false claims about Russian troop movements in Georgia.

On Monday, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili accused Russia of occupying Gori. This information was reported by the world media but later denied.

Meanwhile, Saakashvili has claimed that Russia should be held responsible for the destruction of the South Ossetian city of Tskhinvali, not Georgia. The Georgian President was speaking at a news conference in Tbilisi, where he was joined by the presidents of Poland and post-Soviet states Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

Lithuanian president Valdas Adamkus said the five leaders were attending the conference in support of the Georgian government.

Earlier, Saakashvili claimed Russian troops sank Georgian coastal guard boats in the port city of Poti. He said Russia wanted to bomb the port, but the city authorities convinced them to move the vessels into the sea and sink them with explosives.

Meanwhile Russian General Staff Deputy Commander Anatoli Nogovitsin has said that several boats attacked a Russian Navy vessel near Poti. The ship fired back and drove the attackers away, he said.