Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS General
Georgian authorities slam protest against Russian base’s withdrawal
TBILISI April 28
The people who joined this week’s picket protesting the withdrawal of
military hardware from Russia’s military base in Akhalkalaki are
representatives of “destructive forces”, the Georgian Foreign
Ministry said in a commentary on Friday.
“There are destructive forces in the region of Javakhetia that are
not interested in the area’s revival and are doing everything
possible to destabilize it,” the commentary said.
The authorities are building new roads and infrastructure in the
region, it reads. “This does not meet the interests of the forces
that staged a rally outside the Russian military base in
Akhalkalaki,” it reads.
“The situation in the country is under control. The Russian bases
will be withdrawn from Georgia as agreed,” the commentary reads.
Several dozen residents of the Akhalkalaki district blocked a local
motorway on Wednesday, preventing Russian trucks from leaving for
Armenia.
Akhalkalaki residents fear they will lose their jobs, because most of
them work at the base, Georgian Parliamentary Speaker Nino Burjanadze
said.