Russia regards as provocation statements by Georgian media

MOSCOW, August 27 (Itar-Tass) - The Russian Ministry of Natural
Resources and Ecology regards as a provocation statements by some Georgia
mass media on "ecological occupation" by the Russian Federation of the
Ritsinsky and Kodori national parks, located in the Abkhazia Republic.
"Information on creating a biospheric testing ground of the Teberda
state natural biosphere reserve (Karachai-Cherkessia Republic) was a
pretext for accusation by Georgia of the Russian side," the ministry
claimed.
"The establishment of the biospheric testing ground as an inseparable
part of the Teberda reserve is an important measure to preserve the
biological and landscape environment in the North Caucasus, since it will
help to create a united ecological corridor, unmatched in Europe for its
territorial space and nature preservation importance," says Russian
Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology Yuri Trutnev whose words are
quoted in a press release.
In the opinion of ministry experts, "some so-called Georgian
ecologists interpreted ideas of the Russian side in a quite different way,
seeing a threat to Abkhazian parks in creation of the biospheric testing
ground and accusing Russia of embezzling natural wealth of the Abkhazian
Republic".
In turn, the Russian ministry described this statement as "a
groundless provocation, aimed at inflicting damage to Russia's prestige in
the eye of the world ecological community".
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