TBILISI, May 22 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian soldier who deserted from his unit in South Ossetia in late January and requested asylum in Georgia has not yet received refugee status, the Georgian Interior Ministry said on Friday.
"[Jr. Sgt.] Alexander Glukhov has not yet officially received refugee status in Georgia," Georgian Interior Ministry chief of staff Shota Khizanishvili told RIA Novosti.
Media reports had earlier said that asylum had been granted.
At the end of April, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office filed an extradition request for Glukhov. However, Georgian Deputy Interior Minister Shota Utiashvili said Tbilisi would not hand him over to Russia until his asylum request had been considered.
Glukhov's mother, Galina, said that her son had told her by telephone that he had not yet received refugee status, but that it should be granted "within 9-10 days."
The Russian Defense Ministry initially said Glukhov had been seized by Georgian special services and forcibly taken to Tbilisi. However, Glukhov denied the claims, saying he fled because of the intolerable conditions in his unit.
