Georgian president: coup gets no support

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Source: CCTV.com | 05-07-2009 13:48

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has praised his army commanders for maintaining stability after a coup attempt on Tuesday. The government is seeking the organizers of the mutiny.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili holds a meeting  with Defence Ministry staff in Tbilisi. NATO kicked off  controversial military exercises in ex-Soviet Georgia on  Wednesday as tensions spiked in relations with Russia  over Moscow's expulsion of two alliance diplomats. (AFP/POOL/Irakli Gedenidze)

Saakashvili met the army commanders and said the mutiny failed because the rebel regiment found no support.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said, "Not a single commander, not a single unit thought about supporting them and actually everybody united to stop it (mutiny) as soon as possible. This means we are in good shape and that our long hard work was not wasted."

A Georgian Interior Ministry official says police are offering a reward for information leading to the arrest of three military personnel. They are accused of organizing the mutiny at the Mukhrovani base.

Shota Vtiashvili, head, information department of interior ministry, said, "The police established a reward of fifty-thousand lari which is about thirty-thousand dollars for the information that could lead to the arrest of any of them."

On Tuesday the ministry said it had uncovered a Russian-supported plan to overthrow Saakashvili's government. But it now says the mutiny was aimed at disrupting NATO exercises, and is no longer mentioning Russian support.

Russia has called the accusations a provocation, and says the Georgian leader is trying to shift the blame for his domestic problems.

Editor:Zhang Yun