Agence France Presse — English
June 10, 2005 Friday 2:31 PM GMT

Withdrawal from Georgian bases on time “impossible”: Russian MPS

MOSCOW

Russia is technically unable to deliver on an agreement to dismantle
its two remaining Soviet-era military bases in Georgia before the end
of 2008, Russian deputy Gennady Gudkov was quoted as saying on
Friday, citing a report by the lower house of parliament.

“Russia will only be able to respect the agreed timetable if it
leaves behind half of its material and all its troops in the field,”
he was quoted as saying by the ITAR-Tass news agency.

Moscow and Tbilisi agreed on May 30 the approximately 3,000
servicemen on the two bases — one in Akhalkalaki, near the
Georgian-Armenian border, the other in Batumi, on the Black Sea coast
— would be put on withdrawal status and would pullout totally by the
end of 2008.

However, Gudkov said a technical feasibility study by a group of
visiting deputies from the State Duma lower house of parliament had
shown that was impossible.

Withdrawal from Batumi by sea would take between three and a half and
five years, while withdrawal from Akhalkalaki would be even more
difficult, he said.

The May agreement marked a breakthrough after years of rancorous
negotiations over the two bases, which were once part of Soviet
defences on the southwestern flank with NATO, but have recently
become a bargaining chip in Moscow’s fight to retain influence in the
Caucasus.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress