By DPA
New York : Days after a Russian missile landed on its territory, Georgia has branded it an “act of aggression” and demanded the United Nations Security Council debate the incident.
The Georgian mission to the UN said it planned to submit a request for a meeting of the 15-nation council. But discussion by the body, even in a closed session, can be vetoed by Russia, one of the five permanent members with veto power. Other nations with veto power are the US, China, Britain and France.
“The council has to be resolute in condemning an attack on the territory of a sovereign country,” Georgia’s UN deputy ambassador Irakli Chikovani said.
Chikovani said the missile, which was dropped from a Russian aircraft on Monday and landed unexploded in a field 65 km west of Tbilisi, constituted a violation of the UN Charter protecting UN members’ territories, and as such is an “act of aggression”.
He called for a UN investigation and demanded Russia provide all information needed.
The missile triggered a fresh round of verbal attacks between Russia and Georgia, a republic of the erstwhile Soviet Union. The two sides had already been at odds over the situation in Georgia’s province of Abkhazia, which has demanded separation from Tbilisi. The Georgian government has accused Moscow of inciting secession by Abkhazia because of the number of Russians residing in that province.