Russia is to expel three senior Georgian diplomats in Moscow in retaliation for similar moves by Tbilisi, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said Thursday.

 

"A Georgian diplomat has been told that three senior diplomats of the Georgian embassy in Moscow will be declared personae non-grata following the unfriendly steps of Georgia," Kamynin said after Thursday's meeting between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov and Georgia's Charge d'Affairs Givi Shugarov, summoned to the Foreign Ministry earlier in the day.

 

"Also, the Georgian diplomat's attention was drawn to the fact that all allegations by the Georgian leadership about some interference by Russia in Georgia's internal affairs had nothing to do with the reality and were nothing but attempts by the Georgian authorities to mask their own inability to cope with internal problems. Russia expressed the hope that common sense will prevail and Russian-Georgian relations will return to normal in the near future," Kamynin said.

 

On Wednesday, Georgian authorities announced the expulsion of three Russian diplomats. The Russian Foreign Ministry denounced the move as "irresponsible political provocation by the Georgian leadership" and warned that "all the necessary adequate measures will be taken shortly."

 

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said earlier in a televised address to the nation that "several employees of the Russian embassy were engaged in subversive activities and espionage in Georgia. These employees of the Russian embassy will leave Georgia within days."

 

He accused the Russian secret services of subversive actions against Georgia. "We have proof and we will make it public. We have recalled our ambassador (to Russia) and it's not a theatrical gesture," the president said.

 

Saakashvili declared a 15-day nationwide state of emergency late on Wednesday, as six days of demonstrations have sparked a worsening crisis.

 

A total of 508 people were reportedly hospitalized in Tbilisi on Wednesday after exposure to tear gas or suffering from injuries, the Itar-Tass news agency said.

 

"We're extremely concerned about the development of the situation in Georgia," Kamynin said earlier Thursday, quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency. "We believe the imposition of a state of emergency and the attempts to forge an image of an enemy out of Russia is proof of the Georgian leadership's inability to resolve internal political problems in a civilized way," he said.

 

(Xinhua News Agency November 9, 2007)