RUSSIA PULLS OUT TANKS, MACHINE GUNS FROM GEORGIA
ITAR-TASS, Russia
June 6 2006
TBILISI, June 6 (Itar-Tass) — Another trains loaded with military
hardware and ammunition withdrawn from the Russian military base in
Akhalkalaki has left the Georgian settlement of Tsalka on Tuesday,
heading for Russia. The train has ten T-72 tanks, machine guns and
spare parts on board. The train is to cross the Georgian- Azeri border
on Tuesday afternoon.
The train that is running from Georgia to Russia across Azerbaijan is
a fourth in succession after the hardware withdrawal began on May 15.
The next train with hardware on board withdrawn from the Russian base
in Georgia is scheduled to leave Georgia on June 13.
There is no railway terminal in Akhalkalaki; the military hardware
withdrawn from Georgia is brought to the regional centre of Tsalka
fifty kilometers from Akhalkalaki.
In accordance with the Russo-Georgian agreement, the Russian military
base should be withdrawn from Georgia in 2007. The main hardware is
being transported to the Russian territory by rail, and part of the
hardware is brought by trucks to the Russian base in Gyumri, Armenia.