Azernews.Az

TBILISI – Georgian police are reported to have detained a number of people suspected of spying for Russia, two years after the ex-Soviet neighbors fought a brief war. Two of the suspects are said to be ethnic Armenian citizens of Georgia, Radio Liberty reported.

Defense lawyer Nana Tsuladze has said that prior to their arrest the defendants acted as executives of a company engaged in inspecting cargo and oil. Ruben Gevorkyan headed the company, while Armen Shikoyan served as his deputy.

The Reuters news agency, citing Georgian security sources, said 20 people were detained for allegedly passing secret information to Moscow.

The Georgian Interior Ministry declined to confirm or deny the report, with spokesman Shota Utiashvili saying it would make an official announcement on Friday.

Georgia lost its brief conflict with Russia, which began when Georgia's U.S.-trained military launched an assault on the rebel region of South Ossetia, provoking a crushing counter strike from Russia, after months of Russian baiting. Two years earlier, Georgia detained four Russian military officers and 12 other people on charges of spying.

Georgian officials said at the time the detained Russians and Georgian citizens they had recruited had been collecting information on Tbilisi's relations with NATO, as well as on its seaport and railway infrastructure, opposition parties and army. Georgia handed the Russian citizens over to Russia, which called their detention "an outrageous escapade proving the general anti-Russian policy of Georgia's leadership."