Russian armaments transferred from Georgia to Armenia will not exceed CFE Treaty norms

RIA Novosty, Russia
June 3 2005

MOSCOW, June 3 (RIA Novosti) – Russian armaments which will be
transferred from Georgia to Armenia will not exceed the norms set in
the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty.

Russia’s permanent representative at the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe Alexei Borodavkin said this at a session
of the OSCE Permanent Council.

Commenting on Azerbaijan’s concern over the transfer of Russian
armaments and military hardware from the bases in Georgia to Armenia,
Borodavkin said: “Such actions do not pose threat to the adjacent
states.”

Russian armaments and military hardware to be removed to Armenia
will not exceed the limits of CFE Treaty and will be under Russia’s
permanent and total control, he added.

Borodavkin said: “Russian and Georgian Foreign Ministers Sergei Lavrov
and Salome Zurabishvili instructed their delegations at the military
talks to draft an agreement on the terms, functioning and withdrawal
of the Russian military bases from Batumi and Akhalkalaki and other
Russian military facilities in Georgia.”

“This work has already begun,” Borodavkin added.

Moreover, the sides came out for the resumption of Germany’s efforts
in the OSCE to set up an international mission for monitoring the
situation on the territory of the former Russian military base
in Gudauta in Abkhazia (a self-proclaimed republic in Georgia),
Borodavkin said.

The Russian and Georgian foreign ministries said that the withdrawal of
military hardware from the Russian bases would begin in 2005. At least
40 pieces will be pulled out by September 1, 2005. The withdrawal of
the Akhalkalaki base will be over before by the end of 2007 depending
on the weather. The withdrawal of the Batumi base and the command
of the Russian group of forces in the Transcaucasian region will be
completed during 2008.