GEORGIA: DETAILED ACCOUNT OF SHOOTING NEAR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TBILISI 002203

NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/25/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS PL RU GG
SUBJECT: GEORGIA: DETAILED ACCOUNT OF SHOOTING NEAR
PRESIDENTS

REF: TBILISI 2193

Classified By: Ambassador John F. Tefft for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C/NF) Summary and comment. A more comprehensive readout
of the November 23 incident at the South Ossetian
administrative boundary (see reftel) indicates the motorcade
went right up to a combined Russian/Ossetian checkpoint on
the administrative boundary of South Ossetia, and the
presidents themselves approached the checkpoint on foot. The
ride toward Akhalgori was not part of the original itinerary
for the two presidents, and Polish officials did not know
about it until the motorcade took the turn to the north. It
appears that the Georgian side may have planned the side trip
toward Akhalgori slightly ahead of time, but probably not
very far in advance, and the Polish side was unaware of the
plan at all. The shooting, however, turned what President
Saakashvili probably conceived as a unique opportunity to
underline the plight of Georgian sovereignty into something
far more provocative than perhaps even he intended and could
reinforce his image as impulsive. End summary and comment.

Surprise!


2. (C/NF) The Polish Charge in Tbilisi (please strictly
protect),who rode in one of the rear vehicles of the
approximately 12-car motorcade on November 23, offered the
following details of the evening's events in a November 25
meeting with PolOff. According to the original itinerary for
President Kaczynski's visit to Georgia, President Saakashvili
was scheduled to meet Kaczynski at the airport at 1700, then
escort him from there to a new settlement for internally
displaced persons (IDPs) in Metekhi. For unknown reasons,
Saakashvili did not meet Kaczynski at the airport, but rather
joined him in the presidential limousine at the presidential
administration building in Tbilisi.


3. (C/NF) Sometime after joining the Polish president,
Saakashvili apparently proposed to Kaczynski a side trip up
the road that leads to Akhalgor to see the checkpoints on
the South Ossetian border. Polish officials, including the
Charge and presidential security personnel, did not know
about the change in plans until the motorcade took the turn
to the north off the main highway that leads to Akhalgori.
Meanwhile, a bus of about 15 journalists, which was the last
car in the motorcade, was sent ahead of the entire motorcade
to arrive at the destination ahead of time. Two security
cars from the front of the motorcade joined the journalists'
bus.

Encounter at the Checkpoint


4. (C/NF) Because the Charge was near the back of the
motorcade, he did not directly witness much of what happened
next, but he received a readout from a Polish journalist who
was on the bus. The Charge also noted that it was already
dark by the time they reached the checkpoint, so it was
difficult to see. After traveling at a very high rate of
speed, the bus and two security cars arrived at a checkpoint
on the South Ossetian boundary a minute or so before the rest
of the motorcade. The checkpoint is directly north of
Odzisi, on the administrative boundary; OSCE reports it is
staffed by both Ossetian and Russian forces. The forces
staffing the checkpoint (it is unclear whether they were
Ossetian or Russian),upon seeing one bus full of people and
two cars full of security personnel pull up, appeared to the
Polish journalist to become agitated. The journalists were
advised by the Georgian security personnel to stay on the
Qadvised by the Georgian security personnel to stay on the
bus, which they did. The Polish journalist also noted a few
Mercedes parked along the right side of the road, pointed in
the opposite direction, back the way they had come. (Embassy
note: Based on previous presidential events we have observed,
these vehicles were probably a security advance team. End
note.)


5. (C/NF) A minute or so later, the main motorcade arrived,
and the two presidents exited their vehicle and approached
the checkpoint. The two sides exchanged words, although it
is not clear to what extent the presidents themselves were
involved in this exchange. Very soon after the presidents
approached the checkpoint, however, three short bursts of
automatic gunfire rang out to the northwest of the
checkpoint. Altogether the shooting likely lasted on the
order of ten seconds (not several minutes, as reported by
some press). The Charge was at this point walking toward the
checkpoint, but he was still several cars back. He estimated
that the shots, although some distance away from him
personally, could have been fairly close to the checkpoint,

TBILISI 00002203 002 OF 002


and possibly as close as 100 feet, as reported in some press
reports -- but he cautioned that the physical layout of the
area, including hills to the east, made any estimates
difficult. He also said the shooting was almost surely in
the air, dismissing as highly unlikely any suggestion that it
was targeted at anyone.


6. (C/NF) As soon as the shooting started, members of the
motorcade, including the presidents, scrambled to return to
their cars and leave the scene. The two presidents did not
re-enter their limousine, however, which was still pointed
north and would have had to turn around, but entered one of
the Mercedes on the right side of the road, which was able to
depart immediately. The Polish journalist, not the Charge
(who was still too far back),witnessed this change of cars,
but the Charge later saw the presidents emerge from a
different car than the limousine when the motorcade finally
arrived at Metekhi. All the cars turned around and headed
south, back toward the main highway, and continued to their
originally planned first stop at the settlement for IDPs.

Comment: Misha Being Misha


7. (C/NF) The presence of cars at the checkpoint ahead of
time indicates some amount of planning on the part of the
Georgian side may have taken place. The fact that the press
bus was sent ahead of the motorcade only after they departed
Tbilisi, however, suggests that the side trip was not planned
very far in advance. It is likely that, as has happened on
previous occasions, Saakashvili was at the last moment seized
with what seemed like a great idea: to give Kaczynski a
graphic illustration of the ongoing insult to Georgia's
territorial integrity -- and not to miss a great photo
opportunity. From the Polish Charge's description of the
shooting, it almost surely came from an area controlled by
the Russians and Ossetians, so any suggestion of Georgian
involvement in the shooting itself is fanciful. We will
likely never know whether the forces at the checkpoint knew
the exact identity of their visitors, but it would have been
obvious that this was an important group of well-secured VIPs
-- and still somebody pulled the trigger. Although it did
not harm anyone, the shooting made clear how precarious the
situation on the boundary still is, however, and could give
the opposition -- not to mention the Poles -- fodder for
criticism of the president. Politicians such as Nino
Burjanadze have used similar incidents in the past to suggest
that Saakashvili lacks restraint, and we would not be
surprised if we soon heard similar accusations.
TEFFT