Georgia’s Defense Ministry said Thursday that claims made by a senior opposition lawmaker, that Russia was allowed to transport military hardware through its territory to Armenia, were not true.

Nugzar Tsiklauri, a leader of the United National Movement, claimed Wednesday that several loaded trucks licensed in Russia were spotted in the southern region of Georgia near the border of Armenia, and suggested that they were carrying a self-propelled missile system, Buk.

"Reports in circulation that claim Russian military hardware transited through Georgia on the way to Armenia are not true. The equipment is used for civilian and not military purposes," the ministry said in a statement.

The Georgian ministry said neither Armenia nor Russia had applied for permission to transport military equipment through its territory in the past few years. Armenia saw a flare-up of violence with Azerbaijan last year over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.