Moscow, July 15: Russian military planners are planning "extremely tough" counter-measures in response to US-led Nato AWACS flights over the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, a media report said today. Russia could deploy its highly sophisticated S-300 air-defence and anti-ballistic missiles system in Georgia's breakaway province of Abkhazia posing a tangible threat to the activities of Nato Air Force over a huge region including Turkey, "Nezavisimaya Gazeta" reported.

Moscow had strongly reacted to last week's demonstration flight of Nato E-3A AWACS plane and the Russian foreign ministry had cautioned that Russia would take retaliatory steps to ensure its security.

According to "Nezavisimaya Gazeta", the flights of AWACS planes near the Russian border in the sensitive Caucasian region would help the US to 'supplement' intelligence data which it gets from its space-based spying satellite network. Recalling defence minister Sergei Ivanov's remarks that the AWACS spy plane flights along Russian borders do not correspond to the spirit and quality of Russia-Nato relationship, the daily said that this was "only the visible part of the diplomatic iceberg".

"Chief of the Gru military intelligence Valentin Korabelnikov has been given the task of mounting intelligence activities in Georgia.

"The Gru network in Georgia is keeping close watch on Georgian defence ministry's contacts with pentagon and Nato and could practically monitor online the negotiations between the Georgian military leadership and the with the commander of Nato Air Force's early warning and control command Johan Dora," the report said. Bureau Report