Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
October 13, 2006 Friday

"THERE IS THE DANGER THAT THE SITUATION WILL WORSEN YET"

by: Mikhail Vignansky

AN INTERVIEW WITH MAJOR GENERAL ANDREI POPOV, RUSSIAN ARMY GROUP IN
THE CAUCASUS COMMANDER; An interview with Major General Andrei Popov,
Russian Army Group in the Caucasus Commander.

The Russian Army Group in the Caucasus returned to a normal state of
combat readiness on October 9. Its readiness status had been upped in
late September, when the Georgians arrested four Russian officers on
charges of espionage and cordoned off the Army Group headquarters in
Tbilisi demanding the fifth suspect. Here is an interview with Major
General Andrei Popov, Commander of the Russian Army Group in the
Caucasus.

Andrei Popov: Tension abated some, the siege was lifted from the
headquarters, and we are back to a normal state of readiness now. And
yet, there is the danger that the situation will worsen yet. That is
why we are ever ready to upgrade the readiness status again.

Question: Georgia announced that new rules of transit of personnel
and military shipments to the 102nd Military Base in Gyumri (Armenia)
came into effect on October 9…

Andrei Popov: I do not know what new rules are meant by that. All
procedures are specified by the withdrawal accord signed in 2005. We
always apply for transit permits on time. We always discuss
everything with the Georgian side beforehand.

Question: How many servicemen and members of their families are in
Georgia nowadays?

Andrei Popov: Almost 3,000 servicemen and as many family members.

Question: How many civilians were evacuated by planes of the
Emergency Ministry?

Andrei Popov: Forty-four people.

Question: Did anybody else apply for evacuation?

Andrei Popov: Five people did.

Question: Have the Russian sanctions against Georgia backfired and
affected the military? How do objects of the Russian Army Group in
the Caucasus receive shipments and reinforcements?

Andrei Popov: Nothing has affected us. We’ve been bringing everything
via Armenia or buying whatever we need right here for several years
already. We have what we need to last until the withdrawal scheduled
for 2008. Unfortunately, Georgia has been making problems with visas
for our servicemen for over a week already. As for the measures taken
by the Russian leadership, we support them wholeheartedly.

Question: The Russian Army Group in the Caucasus was scheduled to
turn over to Georgia five objects that are no longer used in
September and October…

Andrei Popov: We are ready to keep our part of the bargain. It’s the
Georgians who have been silent.

Source: Vremya Novosti, October 10, 2006, p. 6