Moscow, Dec 07: Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov accused the United States of playing a role in the resignation of Georgian leader Eduard Shevardnadze last month, according to an interview published yesterday in Komsomolskaya Pravda. "I think there are enough facts proving that what happened in those days wasn't spontaneous, it didn't arise suddenly," Ivanov was quoted as saying. "Of course, there were preparations and the us ambassador was involved, as Shevardnadze himself admitted."

Ivanov also said that multibillionaire philanthropist George Soros' fund, set up to bolster civil society and the rule of law in the former Soviet Union, played a role. Shevardnadze had earlier accused Soros of funding the Opposition, and he noted that us ambassador to Georgia, Richard Miles, was posted in Yugoslavia before the overthrow of Slobodan Milosevic. Shevardnadze had told the Associated Press that Miles might have encouraged Georgia's Opposition. Senior Washington officials have denied any US conspiracy to depose Shevardnadze.

Ivanov noted in the interview that the white house also dispatched former US Secretary of State James W Baker to Georgia ahead of the November 2 parliamentary elections. Baker, who knew Shevardnadze well, pushed the Georgian leader to ensure that the vote was free and fair. The protests that led to Shevardnadze's November 23 resignation erupted amid widespread allegations that the elections had been rigged. Bureau Report