Georgia rejects accusations from Russia of involvement in the explosion of the Crimean bridge

On October 12, Deputy Ministers of Internal Affairs and Finance of Georgia Alexander Darakhvelidze and Giorgi Kakauridze denied accusations by the Federal Security Service (FSB) of the Russian Federation that the explosive materials allegedly used in the explosion of the Crimean bridge on October 8 arrived at their destination through Georgia.

“Georgia has nothing to do with this issue,” Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia Alexander Darakhvelidze said today in an interview with journalists. He added that “both transit and non-transit goods pass customs control in Georgia, and no such suspicious facts were observed.”

In turn, the Deputy Minister of Finance of Georgia Giorgi Kakauridze explained that “a trailer loaded with TNT or other explosives” did not cross the customs border of Georgia. “In the performance of their duties, the Customs Service has a well-defined procedure for this, and there was no such case,” he stressed.

According to Kakauridze, “in a number of cases, certain accusations are heard from politicians, in a number of cases from the special services, for which there are no grounds.” The Deputy Minister stressed that if “someone just said something”, he is not obliged to make excuses for it.

“If someone argues that (the cargo) crossed the border of Georgia, then an investigation will be launched and the responsible persons will be (established,” Giorgi Kakauridze said, adding that if the information provided is “speculation”, this should be answer the relevant service.

What does the FSB of Russia say?
The FSB of Russia on October 12 stated that the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, its chief Kirill Budanov, employees and agents were behind the explosion at dawn on October 8 of the Crimean bridge connecting Russia and Ukraine.

The FSB of Russia also released a scheme for delivering explosives to their destination. In particular, according to the agency, an explosive device hidden in a polyethylene roll for construction purposes was delivered to Bulgaria from the port of Odessa. According to the FSB, after that, three citizens of Ukraine, two citizens of Georgia and one citizen of Armenia were involved in the transportation of cargo, first to the port of Poti, and then to Armenia.

According to the FSB, from September 29 to October 3, 2022, in the Transalliance terminal in Yerevan, the cargo was cleared according to the rules of the EurAsEC and the documents of the sender and recipient were replaced, and on October 4, the cargo was delivered and unloaded at one of the warehouses in Krasnodar region on a Georgian-registered truck through the Upper Lars customs post, which connects Russia and Georgia.

According to the same version, on October 7, the data of the sender and recipient of the cargo were once again changed and on the same day it was placed in a truck registered as a Russian citizen, which exploded on October 8 while driving on the Crimean bridge.

According to the agency, at the moment 8 people have been detained in the case, including 5 citizens of Russia, 3 citizens of Ukraine and Armenia.

According to the FSB, the investigation of the case is ongoing, and its accomplices, including foreign citizens, will be held accountable in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.