Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
March 16, 2005, Wednesday
MILITARY BASES WILL BE OUTLAWED
SOURCE: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, March 14, 2005, p. 3
by Yuri Simonjan
PARLIAMENT OF GEORGIA PASSED A RESOLUTION OUTLAWING RUSSIAN MILITARY
BASES
Nongovernmental organizations of Djavakhetia (a region of Georgia
with a mostly Armenian population) staged protest actions in
Akhalkalaki, the town where one of the two Russian military bases in
Georgia is quartered. They protested against the decision of the
national parliament that outlawed Russian military bases. Organizers
of the rally are convinced that the 62nd Russian Military Base in
Akhalkalaki is a factor in stabilization. Also importantly, it is a
major employer and as such plays a vital role in the regional
economy.
On March 10, the parliament of Georgia unanimously passed a
resolution on illegitimacy of the presence of Russian military bases
in Georgia. The document gives Moscow and Tbilisi before May 15,
2005, to reach a mutually acceptable accord on the withdrawal of the
bases. The authorities of Georgia will have to demand Russia to
remove its bases from the territory of Georgia by January 1, 2006,
otherwise. “The parliament of Georgia is convinced that presence of
military bases in Georgia is a destabilizing factor. Their withdrawal
will facilitate regional security and stability and recovery and
normalization of the Georgian-Russian relations,” to quote from the
document. This airy advance to Moscow done away with, the document
proceeds to list the reasons that explain why the presence of the
Russian military collides with national interests of Georgia. The
list takes three pages.
“The resolution the parliament passed is a bit stiff, but I retain
the hope that we will make a civilized accord that will take Russia’s
interests into account and protect sovereignty of Georgia at the same
time,” President Mikhail Kasianov said. “Both parties should benefit
from the accord.”
Groups of experts began consultations in Moscow again. When Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Tbilisi not long ago, the agreement
was reached that the experts should draft suggestions on every moot
point by May 1, so that Vladimir Putin and Saakashvili will have
something to talk over in Moscow on May 9 (president of Georgia will
visit Russia to celebrate the 60th anniversary of victory in the
Great Patriotic War).
Negotiations are in a cul-de-sac
Four Russian military bases remained in Georgia when the Soviet Union
collapsed. Acting in accordance with the Istanbul OSCE summit
decision (1999), Moscow withdrew the 137th Base (Vaziani) and the
50th (Gudauta) from Georgia in 2001.
According to the Foreign Ministry, personnel of the two remaining
bases (the 62nd in Akhalkalaki and the 12th in Batumi) barely exceed
1,000 servicemen (servicemen numbered over 2,000 before 2003). On the
other hand, official figures differ from unofficial estimates. A
source in the Defense Ministry claims that the 12th Base alone
includes almost 150 Russian officers and over 2,000 contract
servicemen (most of them locals viewing a contract with the Russian
Defense Ministry as a source of income). The 145th Motorized Infantry
Division is the nucleus of the 12th Base which lacks heavy armament.
Negotiations over these two bases have been under way since 2002. At
first, Moscow claimed that it needed 11 years to withdraw the bases
and Tbilisi insisted on only 3 years. The Russians claimed by the way
that the withdrawal and re-settlement of the bases in Russia would
cost almost $500 million.
The Russian General Staff said that it was prepared to discuss
withdrawal in 7 to 9 years, a year later. These days, Colonel General
Anatoly Mazurkevich, Commander of the Main Directorate of
International Military Cooperation of the Defense Ministry, says that
the Defense Ministry is prepared to withdraw its bases from Georgia
“inside of 3-4 years”. Georgia immediately adapted to the new
situation and said that 2 years would suffice.
The latest round of the negotiations ended with nothing to show for
it in February 2005.
Translated by A. Ignatkin