TBILISI. Aug 5 (Interfax-AVN) - Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze said on Monday his country would never give its consent to conduction of "a large-scale punitive military operation" in the Pankisi gorge.
Georgia "prefers special operations to detain and isolate specific terrorists on the basis of obtained information," Shevardnadze told national radio.
A military operation would harm both peaceful Chechen refugees and locals, he said. According to the president, Georgian law-enforcement bodies are ready to cooperate with their colleagues from Russia and other countries in detention of specific people.
Such cooperation has recently resulted in the detention and extradition to Russia of Adam Dekkushev, "one of the most dangerous terrorists," Shevardnadze stressed.
He said he had to remind "everybody, including some Russian activists" that escalation of tensions in the Pankisi gorge was a consequence of the Chechen conflict.