State Department UAP Cable 003, Tbilisi, Georgia, October 30, 2001
On October 28-29, there was an incident alleged by the Georgian Foreign Ministry that Russian aircraft had violated Georgian airspace and bombed areas of the Kodori Gorge. Russians denied any of the claims and said that it could have been UFOs. Cable authors note that Russians typically engage in the “bold lie” when they wish to conceal actions.
The summary above is sourced from the released file metadata as published to war.gov. The analysis sections below are original to this tracker.
Text of the document
Machine-extracted from the PDF war.gov published (its text layer or OCR), so expect errors, especially in names, numbers and handwriting; the PDF is the authoritative copy. Lines that did not extract as readable text are left out. Showing about 993 words from pages 1, 2, 3, 4 of 5.
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IUNCLASSI Fl ED From: AMEMBASSY MOSCOW Action: WASHDC, SECSTATE ROUTINE TAGS: PREL, MARR, KCFE, UN, OSCE, GG, RS Subject: UFOS OVER GEORGIA: STRANGE ENCOUNTERS OF AN MFA KIND FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1142 INFO AMEMBASSY TBILISI PRIORITY USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE AMEMBASSY BAKU AMEMBASSY YEREVAN USMISSION USOSCE SECDEF WASHDC JOINT STAFF WASHDC TAGS: PREL, MARR, KCFE, UN, OSCE, GG, RS SUBJECT: UFOS OVER GEORGIA: STRANGE ENCOUNTERS OF AN MFA Declassified in Full / Release in Full John Powers, Acting-Director US Department of State IUNCLASSI Fl ED COMFIDEMTIAL Pagel of 5
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IUNCLASSI FlED CLASSIFIED BY POLMINCOUNS GEORGE KROL. REASON 1.5 (B/D). 1. J,f2'[ SUMMARY: DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER MAMEDOV TOLD AMBASSADOR VERSHBOW OCTOBER 30 THAT ACCORDING TO THE RUSSIAN MINISTRY OF DEFENSE, NO RUSSIAN PLANES FLEW OVER OR BOMBED POSITIONS IN THE KODORI GORGE OCTOBER 28-29, DESPITE GEORGIAN ACCUSATIONS TO THE CONTRARY. MFA GEORGIA DESK CHIEF TEREOKEN ECHOED MAMEDOV'S STATEMENT. TEREOKEN FURTHER CONFIRMED THAT ONE RAILWAY CAR FULL OF RUSSIAN MILITARY EQUIPMENT LEFT GUDAUTA BASE AND ENTERED RUSSIA OCTOBER 29 (REF A) AND THAT TWO OTHER RAILWAY CARS ARE LOADED AND AWAITING ABKHAZ PERMISSION TO LEAVE FOR RUSSIA. THERE ARE NO PLANS TO WITHDRAW PERSONNEL UNTIL TBILISI AGREES THAT APPROXIMATELY 340 RUSSIAN "GUARDS" CAN REMAIN AT GUDAUTA. TEREOKEN SAID THAT ABKHAZ AUTHORITIES WOULD NOT ALLOW ANY OUTSIDE OBSERVERS TO WITNESS THE WITHDRAWAL. TEREOKEN TERMED GEORGIAN PARLIAMENTARY SPEAKER ZVANIA'S OCTOBER 25-28 VISIT TO MOSCOW POSITIVE IN TONE BUT EMPTY OF RESULTS. ACCORDING TO THE GEORGIAN EMBASSY, ZVANIA AND RUSSIAN DUMA SPEAKER SELEZNEV AGREED THAT BOTH SIDES SHOULD AVOID RECRIMINATIONS. TEREOKEN DENIED MEDIA REPORTS THAT DEFENSE MINISTER SERGEY IVANOV WAS PLANNING TO VISIT TBILISI SOON BUT DID NOT RULE OUT A VISIT COMPLETELY. END MEETING, AMBASSADOR VERSHBOW RAISED REFTEL B REPORTS ALLEGING RUSSIAN PLANES HAD VIOLATED GEORGIAN AIRSPACE AND THAT SUCH INCIDENTS, IF TRUE, AND IF CONTINUED, COULD BE DISASTROUS FOR U.S.-RUSSIAN RELATIONS AND SPOIL THE UPCOMING SUMMIT MEETING OF OUR PRESIDENTS IN THE U.S. MAMEDOV AGREED THAT SUCH INCIDENTS WOULD HAVE A NEGATIVE EFFECT ON THE SUMMIT, BUT QUOTED THE RUSSIAN MINISTRY OF DEFENSE AS CATEGORICALLY DENYING THAT RUSSIAN PLANS WERE INVOLVED IN ANY INCIDENTS IN GEORGIAN AIRSPACE. 3. Jj&'J MFA GEORGIA DESK CHIEF TEREOKEN, ECHOING MAMEDOV'S CLAIMS, DENIED TO US OCTOBER 30 REPORTS OF RUSSIAN PLANES BOMBING KODORI GORGE IN ABKHAZIA. HE ALSO DENIED THAT THERE WERE ANY RUSSIAN VIOLATIONS OF GEORGIAN AIRSPACE, SAYING THAT THERE HAD BEEN NO RUSSIAN PLANES FLYING NEAR THE AREA ON EITHER OCTOBER 28 OR 29. ACCORDING TO TEREOKEN, THERE WERE CREDIBLE REPORTS OF ABKHAZ HELICOPTERS BOMBING THE AREAS "WHERE THE TERRORISTS WERE" BUT THAT REPORTS OF PLANES IN THE AREA MIGHT AS WELL HAVE BEEN ABOUT "UFOS." MOSCOW, HE EXPLAINED, DOES NOT HAVE THE TECHNICAL CAPABILITY TO DETERMINE WHETHER THERE WERE FOREIGN PLANES IN THE REGION. UNDERSCORING THAT HE "WAS NOT ACCUSING IUNCLASSI FlED COMFIDEMTIAL Page 2 of 5
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IUNCLASSI FlED ANYONE," TEREOKEN ADDED THAT IT WAS POSSIBLE THAT "ANY SIDE" HAD SENT PLANES OVER KODORI. 4. ~ ASKED ABOUT PLANS TO WITHDRAW FROM GUDAUTA (REF A), TEREOKEN CONFIRMED THAT ONE TRAINLOAD OF MILITARY EQUIPMENT HAD DEPARTED THE BASE AND HAD ENTERED RUSSIA THE MORNING OF OCTOBER 29. TWO MORE TRAINS HAVE BEEN LOADED AND ARE AWAITING PERMISSION FROM ABKHA2 AUTHORITIES TO MOVE TO RUSSIA. MEMBERS OF THE RUSSIAN GENERAL STAFF ARE IN SUKHUMI TO COORDINATE THESE MOVES. 5. j,{d'[WE ASKED WHY OUTSIDE OBSERVERS HAD NOT BEEN INVITED TO INSPECT THE WITHDRAWALS. TEREOKEN CLAIMED THAT THE ABKHAZ AUTHORITIES LIKELY WOULD NOT TOLERATE THE PRESENCE OF OUTSIDERS GIVEN THE TENSE SITUATION WITH TBILISI. THE RUSSIANS, HE ADDED, HAD NO TIME TO INVITE OUTSIDE OBSERVERS BECAUSE "WE DIDN'T KNOW UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE" THAT THE WITHDRAWAL OF ONE TRAINLOAD OF EQUIPMENT WOULD PROCEED. WE ARGUED THAT MOSCOW NOW HAS TIME IF IT HAS ALREADY LOADED TWO OTHER TRAINS BUT IS WAITING FOR ABKHAZ PERMISSION TO WITHDRAW. THE LACK OF TRANSPARENCY MIGHT RAISE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE GOR'S INTENTIONS, WE NOTED. WE ASKED ABOUT PLANS TO WITHDRAW TROOPS. TEREOKEN SAID THAT APPROXIMATELY 600 RUSSIAN PERSONNEL REMAIN AT GUDAUTA. MOSCOW CONTINUES TO INSIST ON KEEPING ABOUT 340 THERE AS "GUARDS." TBILISI, HE NOTED, CONTINUES TO WANT A MUCH LOWER FIGURE. 6. Ge'.) WE ASKED TEREOKEN ABOUT GEORGIAN PARLIAMENTARY SPEAKER 2URAB 2VANIA'S VISIT TO MOSCOW LAST WEEK. HE CONFIRMED THAT THE TONE OF 2VANIA'S VISIT WAS POSITIVE. HE NOTED, HOWEVER, THAT THE VISIT "HAD NO PRACTICAL OUTCOME." THE GEORGIAN EMBASSY TOLD US OCTOBER 26 THAT GEORGIAN ZVANIA'S VISIT WAS GOING WELL (NOTE: 2VANIA DEPARTED MOSCOW OCTOBER 28). ACCORDING TO GEORGIAN POLCOUNS CHKHEID2E, 2VANIA AND RUSSIAN DUMA SPEAKER GENNADIY COMFIDEMTIAL Page 3 of 5
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FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1143 INFO AMEMBASSY TBILISI PRIORITY USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE AMEMBASSY BAKU AMEMBASSY YEREVAN USMISSION USOSCE SECDEF WASHDC JOINT STAFF WASHDC TAGS: PREL, MARR, KCFE, UN, OSCE, GG,RS SUBJECT: UFOS OVER GEORGIA: STRANGE ENCOUNTERS OF AN MFA SELEZNEV AGREED THAT BOTH COUNTRIES NEEDED TO DISCUSS THEIR DIFFERENCES CALMLY AND WORK ON A GENERAL TREATY. 7. -"3'J TEREOKEN DISMISSED PRESS REPORTS THAT DEFENSE MINISTER SERGEY IVANOV HAD AGREED TO VISIT TBILISI VERY SOON BUT NOTED HE COULD NOT ENTIRELY RULE OUT A VISIT IN THE COMING WEEKS. HE CLAIMED THERE ARE PLANS FOR A POSSIBLE MEETING BETWEEN SHEVARDNADZE AND PUTIN ON THE MARGINS OF THE NOVEMBER 30-DECEMBER 1 CIS SUMMIT IN MOSCOW, BUT NOTED NOTHING IS YET CONFIRMED. 8. -"3'J COMMENT: IT IS HARD TO ACCEPT OFFICIAL RUSSIAN DENIALS THAT RUSSIAN PLANES WERE NOT INVOLVED. TO POSIT THAT THEY COULD BE UFOS WOULD BE HUMOROUS IF IT WERE NOT FOR THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE VIOLATIONS. MOST LIKELY THE RUSSIANS WANT TO KEEP THE PRESSURE ON THE GEORGIANS AND THE CHECHENS IN THE GORGE IN AN UNSUBTLE EFFORT TO PREVENT THESE GROUPS' MOVEMENT TO ABKHAZIA OR TO RUSSIA. THEIR OFFICIAL DENIALS REFLECT A TRADITIONAL RUSSIAN PENCHANT TO AVOID AN AWKWARD ADMISSION WITH A BOLD LIE. AS FOR GUDAUTA, THE GOR LIKELY IS USING THE CONTINUED PRESENCE OF
Where this file fits in the PURSUE archive
This file is one of State Department's 9 files in the Trump PURSUE disclosure. Within the State Department agency block it ranks #7 of 9 by Anomalousness Index. Across the entire 450-file archive it ranks #442 of 450.
That places it in the lower-scoring band of the archive (442 of 450 by score), typical of investigative-record style files where the report is paper-based rather than instrumented.
For the broader cluster context, this file is part of Diplomatic UAP Cables - the 9-file State Department PURSUE cluster spanning 1952-2004 embassy cables and policy memoranda, including the two 1963 Bahia, Brazil cables added in Release 05. The cluster page walks through all 9 member files with regional grouping, sensor breakdown, and standout analysis.
Anomalousness Index: 50/100
Evidentiary weight that this encounter remains unexplained after conventional analysis. Not a probability of extraterrestrial origin - that number is not honestly computable from the released files and this tracker refuses to publish it.
🤖 AI-ASSISTED SCORING · methodology
The six rubric components break down for this file as follows. Each component has a weighted contribution to the final score; the per-component explanation below describes what this file's particular value on that component means in the rubric's framework.
Reported by a witness with no instrumented record. The lowest tier in the rubric's sensor axis. Eyewitness perception in field conditions, even when the witness is highly credentialed, scores below capture by any instrumented modality. This report reached the federal record through the State Department.
Civilian witness whose report entered the federal record through investigative channels. The rubric weights civilian credentialed witnesses below uniformed personnel because the report enters the federal record at a remove rather than directly from a mission context.
Single-witness or single-instrument capture. This is the corroboration tier for the overwhelming majority of the PURSUE archive on the released metadata - the rubric records the honest limit of the underlying record rather than inferring multi-witness corroboration that the released summaries do not establish. A small number of files with an independent second witness or instrument score on the multi-witness/multi-instrument tier above this one.
No kinematic measurements - speed, acceleration, vector - are published in the released file with sufficient precision to score on the kinematic axis. The rubric does not infer kinematic anomaly from narrative observer estimates. Every file in the archive carries this value, which is itself an observation about the disclosure: kinematic-grade telemetry was not part of what was released.
A conventional candidate explanation has been considered but is not dispositive. Every file in the archive scores this way - reflecting that the underlying release metadata systematically caveats strong determinations in either direction. The released summaries warn against reading them as conclusive analytical judgments, and the rubric respects that.
Released as open after formal review by the originating agency. The file passed through a review process and was published in that posture - a stronger disposition signal than 'unresolved with no review,' because review has occurred and the open status is the agency's published conclusion.
Bottom line on the score: the Anomalousness Index of 50/100 reflects evidentiary weight that this specific file's encounter remains structurally unexplained by the rubric's six axes - it is not a claim that the underlying event involved anything non-conventional, and it is not comparable across rubrics that use different weights. For the full per-axis weights and the rubric JSON, see /methodology.
Related files in State Department
Other PURSUE files in the same category, ranked by Anomalousness Index.
59_214434_SP 16 [7.18.1963]
59_64634_711.5612[7-2852
DOS-UAP-D001, Diplomatic Cable, Brazil, November 14, 1963
DOS-UAP-D002, Diplomatic Cable, Brazil, November 20, 1963
State Department UAP Cable 001, Papua New Guinea, January 28, 1985
State Department UAP Cable 002, Kazakhstan, January 31, 1994
Verification
SHA-256:
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Source: https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/059uap00011.pdf