Saakashvili denies ex-diplomat's claims

Saakashvili spoke before testifying to a parliamentary commission investigating the causes and conduct of the August war in which Russia routed the Georgian military and drove deep into Georgian territory. The war caused severe damage to Georgia's economy and aggravated already troubled relations between Moscow and Washington--a staunch backer of Saakashvili.

Georgia's former ambassador to Russia said this week that Georgian officials perceived a July visit by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as encouragement for the use of force against South Ossetia. Erosi Kitsmarishvili also said people in Saakashvili's circle told him that Rice "gave the green light"--something Rice herself has denied.

Asked specifically whether the U.S. had given such encouragement, Saakashvili denied it, and he dismissed Kitsmarishvili's claims.

"All I can say is it's an utter nonsense, and even if it had not been so, this gentleman was not in a position to know so," Saakashvili told reporters after meeting with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen

"This is because his position didn't allow him to be present at any of the meetings, at any of these contacts, at any of the official encounters," he said.

Kitsmarishvili--a key player in the 2003 Rose Revolution, which swept Saakashvili to power--also told journalists Wednesday that Georgian officials had told him President George W. Bush gave his blessing for the use of force when he met Saakashvili in Washington in March.

Washington has repeatedly denied that it had advance knowledge of the invasion or that it gave its approval.

Kitsmarishvili's statements added new intensity to a growing debate about what and who bears responsibility for starting the war.

Georgia launched a massive artillery barrage Aug. 7 on the South Ossetian capital, whose separatist government has been backed by Moscow and patrolled by Russian peacekeeping forces. Russian forces then poured into the region and went on to take control of substantial swaths of northern and western Georgia.

The war ended with Russian forces firmly in control of South Ossetia and another separatist region, Abkhazia. Moscow has recognized both regions as independent.

Georgian leaders have said they launched the Aug. 7 attack after separatists shelled Georgian villages and Russian forces invaded from the north.

Russia denies that, saying it sent troops to protect civilians and Russian peacekeepers from the Georgian onslaught.