GOR REACTION TO DOWNED GEORGIAN DRONE OVER ABKHAZIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 001122 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/21/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV GG RS SUBJECT: GOR REACTION TO DOWNED GEORGIAN DRONE OVER ABKHAZIA Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Daniel A. Russell. Reasons 1.4 (B/D). ¶1. (C) Summary. On April 22, the Ambassador raised the shootdown of a Georgian UAV over Abkhazia with DFM Denisov. Denisov offered no explanation but reiterated Russia's willingness to engage directly with the Georgians. Official Russian statements predictably put the best face possible on the incident. An April 22 MFA statement was devoted entirely to Georgia's violation of the 1994 Moscow Agreement and UNSCR 1808, and a detailed account of the Georgian UAV's trajectory, without any mention of Russian involvement. The statement reaffirmed Russia's claim that Abkhazia shot down the drone. MFA officials adhered to the announcement made by the Russian Air Force that no flights were made by the Russian military in the Northern Caucasus on April 20. They dismissed the Georgian accusation that the Russian fighter plane originated in the Gudauta base, insisting that the base was closed and no longer functional. End summary. ¶2. (C) In an April 22 conversation with Deputy Foreign Minister Denisov, the Ambassador reinforced our serious concerns about the Georgian UAV shot down over Abkhazia. Denisov pointed to the April 21 Putin-Saakashvili phone call, reiterated the GOR's readiness to engage directly with the Georgians, and made clear that no one wanted to see the situation get out of hand. Denisov offered no further explanation on the UAV incident. The Ambassador told Denisov that the Putin-Saakashvili phone call was a good first step, but underscored the need to show restraint. ¶3. (C) The MFA issued its public statement on the UAV incident on April 22. The statement criticized Georgia for its violation of the 1994 Moscow Agreement and UNSCRs which forbade military forces and unsanctioned military activities within the zone of conflict. The statement detailed the Georgian UAV's trajectory from its starting point in Georgia to 20 km southwest of Gali where it was shot down by the Abkhaz at 9:50 AM on April 20. It went on to say that the UN Mission received the information of the flight in the evening of the same day, making the flight an unsanctioned military activity. It cited the April 21 press conference in Sukhumi where, Abkhaz authorities confirmed that the fragments of the "espionage" airplane was similar to those shot down on March 18 over the Ochmchire region. ¶4. (C) MFA CIS Fourth Department Deputy Director Dmitriy Tarabrin told us April 22 that the GOG had lost credibility by repeatedly "lying" about its reconnaissance flights, which were in violation of the 1994 Moscow Agreement. Even this time, he said, the Georgians initially denied that the drone was theirs and only a day later they produced a different account. In response to the GOG accusations that a Russian MIG from the Gudauta base shot down the Georgian UAV, Tarabrin countered, saying that the Abkhazian L-39 training plane had flown the mission. He cited the Russian Air Force announcement that no Russian military flights were made in the Northern Caucasus on April 20. Tarabrin emphasized that he personally visited the Gudauta base six months ago and was convinced that the "closed, non-functional base" could not house Russian fighters. Tarabrin said that unless the video that the GOG publicized clearly showed the identification tag of the plane, GOG accusation could not have validity. ¶5. (C) MFA CIS Fourth Department Deputy Director Aleksey Pavlovskiy echoed Tarabrin, saying that more information was needed to make an official assessment of the Russian MIG "allegedly" involved in the downing of the UAV. Pavlovskiy argued that even if the 1994 Moscow Agreement preceded UAV technology, UAV reconnaissance flights over the conflict zone was unhelpful and went against the spirit of the agreement. Pavlovskiy admitted that the incident was a mystery to him, adding that Russia did not need these kinds of altercations with Georgia at this point. BURNS