Russia blamed for 'gas sabotage'

Source: Construction Digital

Date :30/04/2007 13:24:14

Georgia's president has accused Moscow of serious acts of "sabotage" after gas blasts on Russian pipelines cut off supplies to Georgia and Armenia.

Mikhail Saakashvili told the BBC the near simultaneous attacks close to Georgia's border were pre-planned actions orchestrated by Russia.

An electricity transmission line was also destroyed as Georgia experiences extremely cold weather.

Russia's foreign ministry dismissed Mr Saakashvili's remarks as "hysteria".

Russian prosecutors earlier described the attacks as deliberate criminal acts and said an investigation was under way.

Georgia has no gas reserves and was due to run out of gas on Sunday evening, correspondents say.

Relations between Georgia and Russia have been tense since Mr Saakashvili was swept to power by the so-called "Rose Revolution" in 2003, pledging to lead his nation on a pro-Western course.