President: Georgia will protect its citizens by all available means

Georgia, Tbilisi, Feb.12/ Trend N. Kirtskhalia / "We will protect our citizens by all those means which we have," Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said last night regarding release of Georgian monk Iona from Abkhazian captivity. According to the Georgian Presidential Administration, President Saakashvili said that all worried about kidnapping of a monk and worked to release him. "This is not the first case of kidnapping and perhaps not the last one, as long as bandit illegality continues there with the assistance of our enemy," President Saakashvili said. He said no ransom was paid and "those people got what they deserved" "We will not talk about all the details, because we may to do this in the future. I think these people understood, but if they did not understand - they were given to understand and they will tell others that deprivation of liberty and lives of our citizens must be followed by a response. The illegality there is great misfortune. It is good fortune that you escaped from this illegality, "President Saakashvili told monk Iona. It should be recalled that the Georgian monk, captivated by the Abkhaz side 25 days ago, was released as a result of the Georgian Interior Ministry's special operations. According to law enforcement authorities, a ransom of $100,000 was demanded to release Georgian monk detained in Abkhazia, but the Georgian side did not hold negotiations on this issue. Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az