From the AP: Georgia’s president said his country had seized a shipment of highly enriched uranium, blaming Russia for creating the instability that allows nuclear smugglers to operate in the region. …
Saakashvili gave few details of the seizure during an interview Wednesday with The Associated Press, saying only that the uranium was intercepted last month coming into his country in the Caucasus region of southeast Europe. …
The head of Georgia’s nuclear safety agency, Zaal Lomatadze, told AP Television News in Tbilisi that the "organized group of people tried to smuggle in a small amount of enriched uranium with the purpose of selling it to a would-be buyer."
He said Georgia had registered such smuggling "attempts" involving Russian citizens as well as people from the breakaway Georgian territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. "What will happen in the future of course is hard to say … but we know it could be a potential problem," he said. Georgia borders Russia to the south, with all but one border crossing going through the breakaway regions. (photo: AP/CTK)