Shevardnadze says Georgia and United States may launch joint action against terrorists

TBILISI, Georgia - Georgia's president said Monday his country would consider launching a joint security operation with the United States to uproot terrorists hiding in a gorge on the border with Russia's breakaway republic of Chechnya.\n"As for the possibility of a future joint action with the U.S. special forces in the Pankisi Gorge, we haven't yet had systematic discussions on that," Eduard Shevardnadze told reporters. "But, if it becomes necessary, we have been and remain ready for dialogue."\nThe pressure on Georgia to deal with crime and instability linked to the gorge increased last week when U.S. charge d'affaires Philip Remler told a Georgian newspaper that several dozen terrorists from Afghanistan are operating in the region.\nRussian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov on Monday reiterated Russia's claim that Sept. 11 terror suspect Osama bin Laden could be hiding in the gorge, though he offered no evidence. Speaking in Moscow, he said it was "about time" for Georgia to move against terrorists there.\nShevardnadze ridiculed the claim about bin Laden. And Georgian Security Minister Valery Khaburdzaniya said, "Fortunately, bin Laden is definitely not in Georgia."\nSince the start of the latest war in Chechnya more than two years ago, the Pankisi Gorge has been a source of friction with Russia, which has accused Georgia of harboring rebels. Georgia is the only country that borders Chechnya.\nGeorgian officials initially dismissed the Russian accusations, but have recently acknowledged some militants were hiding in the gorge. Residents blamed the government for failing to stifle criminal gangs and began forming armed volunteer groups for self-protection, prompting Georgia to launch security operations against the militants last month.\nGeorgian officials have acknowledged recently that some Arabs and Afghans who fought in Chechnya might be hiding in the region.\nShevardnadze dismissed Russia's demand to let its forces help Georgia flush militants from the gorge, which is about 150 miles northeast of the capital, Tbilisi.\n"It's inadmissible," Shevardnadze said. "Although Georgia isn't strong militarily, it has all it needs to enforce order on its own territory."\nHowever, Khabrudzaniya told journalists Monday night that a joint U.S.-Georgian anti-terrorist operation would not be a good idea.\nShevardnadze also said Georgian Interior Ministry troops might launch a security sweep in the Pankisi Gorge to free four Georgian policemen who were kidnapped Sunday.