TBILISI, May 11: A hand- grenade was discovered near US President George Bush during his joint appearance with the Georgian leader at a rally in Tbilisi, but was not in position to explode, a top Georgian security official said on Wednesday. “A grenade believed to be of Soviet production was found ... 50 meters (yards) from the stand” on which Bush stood Tuesday with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili for speeches before a crowd of 120,000 people, said Gela Bezhuashvili, secretary of Georgia’s national security council.

He said the grenade “was not thrown,” contradicting an earlier report from Bush’s own security service, which said the explosive had been thrown, but did not go off.

“It was found during the time the two presidents were on the square,” he told MZE television.

“The grenade was not in the armed position,” he said, and “there was no threat to the presidents. The aim was to scare people to get media attention.”

Earlier, the US Secret Service said it had been told by Georgian officials that the device was thrown close to the podium.—AFP