Russia warns Georgia again on “possible” NATO presence

The placement of military infrastructure in Georgia in the interests of NATO would pose a threat to stability in the Caucasus region, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

According to Russian news agency Ria Novosti, this statement was made by Russian Deputy Minister Grigory Karasin at the new round of the International Geneva Discussions held in Geneva on October 7 and 8.

"The Russian side has expressed concern over rumours circulated by Georgian media about plans to place elements of NATO-linked infrastructure in Georgia," the Russian Ministry said in a statement, as "Ria Novosti” claimed.

"Such actions would threaten the existing stability in South Caucasus," the statement reads.

"Delegations from Abkhazia and South Ossetia underlined that decisions made during the recent NATO summit on Georgia significantly increased the need of coming to binding international agreements about non-use of force between Georgia and their states.”

"As an effective step in this direction, Russia's draft on a joint statement made by all participants of the discussions on the non-use of force and security guarantees was discussed," the Russian Foreign Ministry noted.

This was the second "concerning” statement" from the Russian Foreign Ministry based on unproved and denied information in recent days.

On October 2 Russia’s Foreign Ministry publically stated if Georgia’s so-called offer to host a training camp for Syrian rebels was established, it "would affect Georgia very negatively”.

The official Russian statement was released even though the Georgian Government and the country’s Prime Minister strongly denied such an offer had been made.