Russians "fire on Georgian, Polish leaders' motorcade" (1st Lead)

Nov 23, 2008, 16:29 GMT

Tbilisi, Georgia - Russian patrol personnel fired shots at a motorcade carrying Polish and Georgian presidents Lech Kaczynski and Mikheil Saakashvili from the airport in Tbilisi to a settlement near the Ossetian border, the Georgian government stated Sunday.

The South Ossetian Defence Ministry rejected the claims, saying the reports of being fired upon were Georgian disinformation. However, The Polish government confirmed the Georgian reports.

Kaczynski was not hurt and the convoy returned to Tbilisi, reported the Polish Press Agency PAP. The settlement was to be Kaczynski's first stop during a visit to Georgia.

'We were traveling along a mountain road in the direction of Ossetia. We stopped and didn't make it to our destination, and now we're returning to Tbilisi,' said a PAP journalist who was traveling with Kaczynski. 'We heard shots. We don't know what happened.'

A presidential minister told PAP the incident occurred at a spot that, according to a peace plan for the Georgia-Russian conflict, 'should be in Georgian hands,' and that Russian soldiers were, 'at a distance of 30 metres from the president.'

It was unclear whether the shots were aimed at the convoy, or if they were warning shots, presidential minister Michal Kaminski told PAP.

A Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman said the vice-minister, who was along on the trip, heard three shots in the distance when nearing the settlement 40 kilometers north of Tbilisi.