UN Council stalls Georgia bid for missile debate
Source: Reuters
By Patrick Worsnip UNITED NATIONS, Aug 9 (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council postponed action on Thursday on Georgia's request for an emergency debate on its allegation of a Russian missile attack, saying it needed more information on the incident. Council President Pascal Gayama of Congo Republic said he would consult members of the 15-nation body on what they wanted to do and Russia said on-the-spot investigations must be completed as a first step. Georgia requested on Wednesday a special meeting of the council to discuss what it called an "act of aggression" by Russian aircraft after a missile landed on its territory. The missile hit -- but did not explode -- in a field about 40 miles (65 km) west of the capital Tbilisi on Monday, re-igniting tensions between Georgia and Russia. Moscow denied involvement. "In the absence of any information, the council members considered we should await the results of any inquiry, in particular the one by the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) ... before taking any decision," Gayama told reporters. "As president of the council, I remain in contact with all the members of the council to get their views on the question." Ambassador Vitaly Churkin of Russia, one of five veto-holding powers on the council, said: "This thing has to be thoroughly investigated first." "We do not see any reason for holding such a Security Council meeting right now because there is nothing on the table. We have to have facts," said another Russian official, who asked not to be identified. But the official said: "We are not trying to block any kinds of decision." A U.S. official said Washington would welcome a briefing for the Security Council on the incident. Georgia's deputy permanent U.N. representative, Irakli Chikovani, said on Wednesday Tbilisi considered the incident a violation of the U.N. charter "and as an act of aggression" under a General Assembly resolution of 1974. In Moscow, Russian military chief of staff Yuri Baluyevsky called the incident "a provocation on the part of Georgia".
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