Russia captures 20 at Georgian port city

RUSSIAN soldiers took about 20 Georgians in military uniform prisoner at a key Black Sea port in western Georgia yesterday, blindfolding them and holding them at gunpoint, and commandeered American military vehicles awaiting shipment back to the US.

The move came as a small column of Russian tanks and armoured vehicles left the strategic city of Gori in the first sign of a Russian pullback of troops from Georgia.

The two countries yesterday also exchanged prisoners, 15 Georgians and five Russians. However, Russian soldiers seized Georgians in Poti — the country’s key oil port city — and commandeered four US Humvees that had been used in US- Georgian military exercises.

It has left Georgians wondering if Russia planned an extended military occupation or was still inflicting punishment before adhering to a promised troop withdrawal.

At an emergency meeting in Brussels, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her 25 NATO counterparts demanded that Russia immediately withdraw its troops from Georgia.

“It is time for the Russian president to keep his word to withdraw Russian forces,” Rice told a news conference.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov lashed back, telling a hastily gathered news conference that the alliance was supporting an aggressive Georgia.

NATO “is trying to make a victim of the aggressor, to absolve of guilt a criminal regime, to save a collapsed regime; and is taking a course to rearm the current leaders of Georgia”, Lavrov said.

NATO secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, accused Russia of occupying Georgia and said “there can be no business as normal under the current circumstances”.

Lavrov said Russian withdrawal depended “first of all, on the return of Georgian troops” to their permanent bases.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told French President Nicolas Sarkozy by phone yesterday that Russian troops will withdraw from most of Georgia by Friday, the Kremlin said — some to Russia, others to South Ossetia and a surrounding “security zone” set in 1999.

In Poti, Russian forces blocked access to the city’s naval and commercial ports yesterday and towed the missile boat Dioskuria, one of the navy’s most sophisticated vessels, out of sight of observers. A loud explosion was heard minutes later.

Several hours later, Russian trucks and armoured personnel carriers were seen leaving the port with about 20 blindfolded and handcuffed men riding on them.

Poti Mayor Vano Taginadze said the Russians seized 22 military and police troops because the Georgians refused to let Russian armoured vehicles enter the port.

The Georgians were taken to the nearby Senaki military base, now controlled by Russia.

There were conflicting reports from Georgian officials late yesterday on whether the men were freed, still detained, or to be released today.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said officials were looking into the reported theft of the Humvees.

The deputy head of Russia’s general staff, Col Gen Anatoly Nogovitsyn, said Russian forces plan to remain in Poti until a local administration is formed, but did not give further details.

He also justified previous seizures of Georgian soldiers as necessary to crack down on soldiers who were “out of any kind of control ... acting without command”.

Local port officials say the Russians have destroyed radar, boats and other Coast Guard equipment there. A Georgian official also said Russians were slowing down food aid shipments .

“They want to open every single container” and inspect them, Georgian Finance Minister Nika Gilavri said.

Russian troops remained in and around Gori following a small-scale pullout.