Shevardnadze says US can use Georgia

The Georgian President, Eduard Shevardnadze, has joined the list of world leaders to say his country will allow the United States to use its land and air space for what he called anti-terrorist operations, if requested.

The Georgian Defence Minister, Davit Tevzadze, said this decision should not worsen relations with Russia, although he added it might cause a new wave of accusations from Moscow.

Meanwhile, Russia has called on the Georgian authorities to extradite immediately hundreds of Chechen rebels Moscow believes are based in Georgia.

A Russian foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said that despite numerous Russian requests, not a single one of what he called the hundreds of terrorists in Georgia had been extradited.

The Georgian authorities have admitted that several hundred Chechen fighters may have entered their territory but have refused Russian requests for joint policing of the Georgia-Chechen border.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service