FIRST TRAIN WITHDRAWS RUSSIAN MILITARY BASE FROM BATUMI

Prime News Agency, Georgia
May 25 2006

Tbilisi. May 25 (Prime-News) – The first train loaded with materiel
withdrawn from the Russian military base in Batumi started to Armenia
on Thursday.

Earlier equipment used be withdrawn from the Military base by ships
– twenty T-72, three anti-aircraft systems, five armoured vehicles
and twelve defensive anti-aircraft systems were withdrawn in 2005 by
Russian military ships.

As Prime-News was told by Vladimir Kuparadze, Deputy Commander of
the Group of Russian Armed Forces in South Caucasus, the train has
already left Georgia for the Russian military base in Gyumr, Armenia.

The train is loaded with 54 pieces of military materiel.

Vladimir Kuparadze added that more equipment is to be sent from the
Batumi military base to Armenia by six trains in the forthcoming
months.