Russian military says part of its equipment from Georgia could be sent to base in Armenia

The Associated Press
05/19/05 05:38 EDT

MOSCOW (AP) – A top military officer said Thursday that some of the
equipment from Russia’s bases in Georgia could be transferred to
Armenia, where Moscow also has a military presence, the Interfax news
agency reported.

Gen. Yuri Baluyevsky, chief of the Russian General Staff, said that
would help Russia reduce the timeframe for withdrawing the bases to
four years, Interfax said.

Russia and Georgia have been in tense negotiations over the base
withdrawal, which Tbilisi insist be complete by the beginning of
2008. The two sides are to hold a fresh round of negotiations on the
lingering dispute in Tbilisi on Monday.

Armenia, an impoverished, landlocked Caucasus state, is one of Moscow’s
closest allies on its southern flank.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress