RUSSIAN MILITARY CONVOY CROSSES GEORGIAN-ARMENIAN BORDER
RIA Novosti news agency, Moscow
18 May 06
Tbilisi, 18 May: The first convoy carrying the property of the 62nd
Russian military base in Akhalkalaki has crossed the border with
Armenia, Col Igor Konoshenkov, an aide to the Russian ground troops
commander, told RIA Novosti on the phone from the Georgian-Armenian
border.
“This is the first out of 12 convoys with the property of the 62nd base
reassigned to replenish Russia’s 102nd military base located in Gyumri,
Armenia. The convoy of 10 trucks was accompanied to the border by two
vehicles that have already gone back to Akhalkalaki,” Konoshenkov said.
There were no problems with the journey, he added. The convoy left
Batumi at 0600 today [0200 gmt]. “On its way across the Georgian
territory it was accompanied by the officers of Georgia’s criminal
and military police and Russian servicemen,” Konoshenkov said.
‘The only difficulty was poor roads to the Armenian border. That is why
it took us more than three hours to cover 40 km,” he said. The convoy
plans to make the remaining 80 km to Gyumri in three hours to reach
the destination point by midday, Konoshenkov added. [Passage omitted
to end: earlier reported details of the Russian pullout from Georgia.]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
