Russia Outraged by Arrest of 5 Military Officers

Russia reacted furiously Thursday to Georgia’s arrest of five Russian military officers on spying charges, labeling the action “wild and hysterical” and recalling Moscow’s ambassador.

Georgian authorities have not fully explained the charges against the five officers, saying only that the men set up a spy ring that for several years sought information about Georgia’s defense capabilities, energy security and efforts to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

The officers were arrested Wednesday in Tbilisi, the capital, and in the Black Sea port of Batumi. Georgian police have cordoned off Russia’s military headquarters in Tbilisi, where authorities say a sixth Russian military intelligence officer is hiding to avoid arrest.

The arrests drew condemnations from Russia’s top leaders, including Defense Minister Sergei B. Ivanov, who demanded that the officers be released. He called the charges “moronic and absolutely far-fetched.... I would not be surprised if they get indicted for planning to steal the sun from the sky.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry said it was concerned about the safety of Russian Embassy workers and their families in Georgia, and would begin a partial evacuation today. A statement on the ministry’s website urged all Russians to avoid traveling to Georgia. The Russian Embassy in Tbilisi stopped issuing visas to Georgians planning to travel to Russia.

Moscow’s relationship with Georgia has long been strained, but it worsened considerably with the rise of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, the Western-educated reformist who led the so-called Rose Revolution against President Eduard A. Shevardnadze in 2003.

Saakashvili has turned his small mountainous republic on Russia’s southern border into a strong U.S. ally that is pursuing membership in NATO and integration with Europe.

Russia has about 3,000 troops in military bases in Batumi and near the border of Georgia and Armenia, holdovers from the Soviet era. The Kremlin has pledged to shut the bases by 2008.

The officers arrested Wednesday are members of Russia’s military intelligence service and do not have diplomatic immunity, Georgian authorities said. At least 10 Georgian nationals accused of working with the officers also were arrested.

Georgian Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili said the men would be formally charged today.