Shots fired at Georgian, Polish presidents’ motorcade

Shots were fired near the motorcade carrying the presidents of Georgia and Poland on Sunday – the fifth anniversary of Georgia’s Rose Revolution – Georgian officials said. No one was hurt in the shooting.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, who led the pro-Western 2003 uprising but whose popularity has waned in recent months, blamed Russian troops in Georgia’s breakaway province of South Ossetia.

“Frankly, I didn’t expect the Russians to open fire,” he said at a news conference with Polish President Lech Kaczynski. “The reality is you are dealing with unpredictable people. They weren’t happy to see our guest, and they weren’t happy to see me either.”

Kaczynski said the shots were fired from about 30 meters (100 feet) from the motorcade. He said it was not clear if the gunfire was aimed at the motorcade or shots were fired into the air.

But he said the incident demonstrated the weakness of the French-brokered truce that ended Russia’s August war with Georgia over South Ossetia. The truce agreement, Kaczynski said, “does not reflect reality.”

“I know from their shouting that they were Russians; I also know from the president of Georgia that there are Russian outposts on that territory,” Kaczynski said.