Georgia says 1 Russian released, 4 charged with espionage

Six men were arrested Wednesday at the start of what has become a dispute overshadowing all previous spats between the two former Soviet stable mates, but a spokesman for the ministry said one officer, Amir Aslanyan, is a Georgian and not Russian as was previously thought.

Shota Khizanishvili also said 11 Georgian citizens, also detained Wednesday, were facing espionage and treason charges. He added that a Tbilisi court would decide on the terms of custody for the Russian officers until a trial later on Friday.

The official also confirmed the release of one Russian, contract NCO Ruslan Skrylnikov, on Friday morning.

"He was the driver of the detained [Russian officers], and was released after answering a few questions put by investigators," Khizanishvili said.

The confrontation continued as the Georgian Foreign Ministry said Thursday deputy foreign ministers from the two countries, Georgy Mandzhgaladze and Grigory Karasin, would meet in Moscow to discuss the growing furor. However, a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry said the meeting was not on Karasin's agenda.

The Russian Foreign Ministry also announced Thursday that it was recalling its ambassador to Tbilisi for consultations and was evacuating some embassy staff and all family members over safety concerns.

On Friday, a plane landed at Tbilisi airport to take to Moscow Ambassador Vyacheslav Kovalenko and some embassy officials, Ivan Volynkin of the embassy said.

Russian diplomatic sources also said the plane would also take 50 people from the families of the embassy staffers and would land near Moscow at 7 p.m. (3 p.m. GMT).

/RIA Novosti/