Georgia not interested where Russia relocates its bases, say officials

Kavkasia-Press news agency
28 May 05

TBILISI

The Georgian executive and legislative authorities believe that
selecting new places of deployment of the Russian military bases after
their pullout from Georgia is the sole prerogative of the Russian
authorities.

The chairman of the Georgian Parliament’s Committee on European
Integration, Davit Bakradze, said that the issue of the Russian bases’
redeployment to Armenia was beyond Georgia’s sphere of authority or
interests. “As long as Russia stays within the international limits on
the types of arms in question, Moscow can deploy them anywhere outside
Georgia. It is not the subject of our interest where Russia takes its
arms,” Bakradze said.

Minister of State for Settlement of Conflicts, Giorgi Khaindrava, said
that according to information available to him Russia was going to
transfer certain types of equipment, rather than the entire
[Akhalkalaki] base, from Georgia to Gyumri [in Armenia]. Khaindrava
also noted that new places of the bases’ deployment was Russia’s
business. “For the Georgian population, the issue of the pullout is
already decided, only some technical details are still to be agreed
upon with the Russian side. As to where they will go, this is business
of the Russian authorities and the Russian military,” Khaindrava said.

The Azerbaijani ambassador to Georgia [Ramiz Hasanov] recently said
that consultations were under way with the Georgian authorities to
prevent the redeployment of Russian military hardware from Georgia to
Armenia.