Georgia says readying proof of Russian role

By Mark John

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Georgia has proof that Russia wanted to use recent street protests to overthrow its government and will publish it soon, a Georgian minister said on Thursday.

Deputy Defence Minister Batu Kutelia told Reuters Tbilisi was collecting details supporting its allegations. He hoped they would be ready for distribution within a week.

"There is clear evidence collected by our special services of direct financial aid and directives from Moscow. This evidence has been collected and will be distributed to the wider international community," he said in an interview in Brussels.

"We have evidence that directives have been made to proceed with the riots and to proceed with the overthrow of the government. I have names and particularly visible evidence of specific transfers of money and commands," Kutelia said after he met NATO ambassadors during a pre-planned visit to the alliance.

Moscow has dismissed the accusations as absurd.

Pro-Western President Mikhail Saakashvili faced mounting international criticism on Thursday for declaring a state of emergency and shutting down independent media to quash six days of anti-government protests.

Opposition leaders, who suspended protests on Wednesday after 550 demonstrators were hospitalized in clashes with riot police, reject allegations that they are backed by Moscow and insist they broadly share Saakashvili's pro-Western line.

Domestic opponents have criticized him for an authoritarian style that brooks no dissent, for continuing human rights abuses and for failing to tackle poverty and unemployment.

VOLATILITY

Kutelia said the state of emergency had been decreed for an initial 15 days but that Saakashvili could cancel it at any time beforehand if he chose.

"Our expectation is to have a dialogue and consultation with the constructive opposition and not with those being manipulated by Russian money and secret services," he said.

In unusually strong criticism of a country seeking membership of the 26-country military alliance, NATO earlier said the state of emergency and closure of media outlets were incompatible with alliance values.

The United States has long been a backer of Georgia's aspirations but other NATO members, notably Germany, argue that Georgia is too unstable to be accepted.

Despite the latest volatility, Kutelia said Georgia would still push to secure an action plan setting out reforms needed for its NATO membership at an alliance summit next April and insisted the state of emergency had been imposed legally.

"NATO values are about the rule of law and we are trying to uphold the rule of law," he said. "We hope it will not affect our Euro-Atlantic aspirations."

(Editing by Oliver Bullough)