Georgia announced Friday morning that the four had been officially charged and would be arraigned later in the day. One other man detained Wednesday with the quartet was released during the night and the Interior Ministry said Friday morning that another was Georgian rather than Russian as originally thought.
Ambassador Vyacheslav Kovalenko, who will arrive in Moscow this evening for consultations after being recalled, said the charged officers had only been in Georgia for three months.
"I doubt that they were able to start such proactive work here in such a short time," he said. "These accusations are unfounded."
The Russian Foreign Ministry dismissed the spying allegations Wednesday night as unsubstantiated and senior officials, including Defense Minster Sergei Ivanov and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, have led the charge of virulent criticism of Tbilisi's decision to arrest the officers.
"Gangsterism in Georgia has taken on a state scale," Ivanov said Thursday.
Another embassy representative also said Friday that another Russian officers wanted by Georgia, Lieutenant Colonel Konstantin Pichugin, would not be given to police in Tbilisi who have surrounded and cordoned off the headquarters of Russia's military contingent in the South Caucasus country.
"There is no question of handing Pichugin over to Georgia," Ivan Volynkin said.
Ambassador Kovalenko said an experienced lawyer would defend the officers, but added that he doubted that Georgia's evidence of the alleged espionage was genuine. The interior minister said Thursday he had audio and video tapes showing the alleged spies in action.
"The audio and video materials presented by the Georgian Interior Ministry are an unclear footage taken by a hidden camera," the Russian envoy said. "The detained men's lawyers will have to work out how accurate these materials are."
He said he would fly to Moscow for consultations adding that possible improvement of bilateral relations "much depended on the Georgian leadership."
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday that it was recalling the ambassador and was evacuating some embassy staff and all family members over safety concerns.
