The President asked Mr Totsky’s opinion on whether Georgian officials could have known about the planned border-crossing by illegal armed groups from Georgia into Russia in the Itum-Kalinsky border region. The FBS Director said they did, referring to intelligence and evidence of a Georgian shepherd who risked his life to deliver the message.
Putin said what happened was an eloquent example of Georgian people’s good feelings about Russia, better than the official government’s attitude. There is a strong potential to re-establish full-scale friendly relations, he stressed.
On the same day, President Putin signed a decree to decorate Georgian citizen Levan Tilidze with the Order of Courage for informing Russian border guards of the planned infiltration by Chechen militants from Georgia.