ITAR-TASS, Russia
TASS
May 23 2005

Azerbaijan worried by RF military hardware transfer to Armenia.

BAKU, May 23 (Itar-Tass) — Azerbaijan expressed concern about
Russia’s possible plans to move part of the property and hardware
from its military bases in Georgia to Armenia.

The Foreign Ministry on Monday sent a note to Russian Charge
d’Affaires in Azerbaijan Pyotr Burdykin, which said, `Such a move
will not serve the interests of peace and security in the region and
will escalate tension in the already complex process of resolving the
conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which is going through an
important period of fragile hopes for a long-awaited breakthrough in
the talks.’

The note expressed the hope that Russia `will give up its intension
to withdraw part of the property and weaponry from the Russian
military bases in Georgia to Armenia and thus confirm its commitment
to security and stability in the region, continued trust and
traditional friendship and good-neighbourliness between Azerbaijan
and Russia’.

On May 19, the chief of the Russian General Staff, Yuri Baluyevsky,
said part of the property and hardware from the Russian military
bases in Georgia could be transferred to Armenia.

He speculated that `part of the military equipment and other assets
may be relocated to neighbouring Armenia.’

`This will help reduce the pullout period to four years. It is a
forced measure and over this period new infrastructures cannot be
created elsewhere from scratch for purely technical reasons,’
Baluyevsky said.

Coordination of positions at the level of experts will become the
basis for signing a Russian-Georgian agreement.

`This agreement will establish the dates and rules of pullout and the
liabilities of both parties, including security requirements. There
is one fundamental condition. The Russian military bases must be
redeployed to properly prepared infrastructures, and not abandoned in
the middle of nowhere,’ Baluyevsky said.

`Earlier the Georgian side insisted on signing a statement on the
withdrawal of bases or a declaration of intent. This is unacceptable
for us, because the Ministry of Finance is unable to allocate
financial resources that have not been properly formalized, without a
proper inter-state agreement ratified by parliaments.’

About Russia’s consent to reduce the originally requested pullout
period from 10-11 years to four, Baluyevsky said `with the passage of
time approaches to the problem changed.’

`We are forced to take into account the political circumstances and
the situation around the bases. The Georgian side seals off the
bases, denies water and electricity supply. There have been attempts
to make us pay for alleged abuse, for allegedly outstanding
ecological and property debts inherited form the Soviet era,’
Baluyevsky said.