Tbilisi, May 11 (Reuters): Georgian security officials discovered a grenade close to President George W. Bush as he hailed the country’s new democracy before a rapturous crowd yesterday.

Officials in the former Soviet republic, which had hosted a serving US President for the first time, were at pains to play down the incident, saying it was a dud that could not explode. Georgia’s security chief, speaking to journalists today, did not confirm an earlier report from Washington that said the device had been thrown within 30 metres of Bush during his speech on Tbilisi’s Freedom Square.

“A (Soviet-made) RPG-5 hand grenade was found at the square,” Gela Bezhuashvili, secretary of Georgia’s Security Council, said. It had been discovered 50 metres from where Bush stood, he said, but he gave no more precise details.

“It was not in working condition. In fact there was no chance it could explode. I think the aim was to scare people and attract attention,” he said. Another official, speaking anonymously, confirmed the device had been found while Bush was speaking.