UN General Assembly
2002

compelled me to shift the focus of my address. I am referring to the mounting aggressive attacks on my country's sovereignty emanating from the Russian authorities and media. On a daily basis, Georgia is being accused of harbouring terrorists, aiding fighters and fueling the conflict in Chechnya. This is a clear attempt to create an enemy image of Georgia in Russia's public opinion. Here I have to state clearly: this is utter nonsense. We believe that the pressure exerted on my country under the pretext of these absurd accusations is being used by Russia as a smokescreen to hide its own failure to cope with the conflict in Chechnya. As President Shevardnadze stated in his letter, transmitted by our Permanent Representative in identical letters addressed to the Secretary-General and to the President of the Security Council, “It is hard to imagine a clearer example of confusing the cause and the effect”. (A/57/408, annex) The truth is that this tragic chain of events started with the conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia, in which Chechen fighters, citizens of the Russia Federation,