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UN aid officials in Georgia lacked paperwork-Russia
Source: Reuters
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 10 (Reuters) - Russia confirmed on Wednesday that it had barred U.N. aid officials from crossing a checkpoint near Georgia's war-ravaged city of Gori, saying this was because they did not have the proper paperwork. Earlier this week, a U.N. spokeswoman said a U.N. food aid convoy was not allowed to cross a checkpoint at the village of Karaleti, which marks the start of a Russian-controlled buffer zone, some 19 miles (30 km) inside Georgian territory outside two separatist enclaves, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. "They failed to produce documents to (Russian) peacekeepers stating the purpose of their trip, including a list of facilities to be visited," Russia's U.N. mission said in a statement. "U.N. officials received clarification on the procedure for timely arrangements of such trips." It added that U.N. humanitarian officials had failed to contact either the Russian Foreign Ministry or any other Russian agencies about their plans to visit Gori. The U.N. convoy was trying to deliver wheat flour, pasta, sugar and other staples, U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas said on Monday. Russia invaded Georgia last month to crush an attempt by Tbilisi to retake control of South Ossetia, which like Abkhazia broke away from the Georgian government in the early 1990s and has since aligned itself with Russia. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has repeatedly called on Moscow to allow humanitarian aid workers access to all parts of Georgia affected by last month's brief war between Russia and its neighbor, a former Soviet republic. Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin suggested last month that the U.N. secretariat was spreading "disinformation" about what Russia was doing in Georgia. He has also criticized western media for what he says is biased reporting on the conflict. Russia agreed on Monday to pull back from undisputed Georgian territory outside the two separatist regions, which Moscow has recognized as independent states. (Reporting by Louis Charbonneau; Editing by David Wiessler)
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