ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
August 23, 2007 Thursday
Trainload of Russian property to be sent from Georgia to Armenia
TBILISI August 23
Fifteen motor vehicles and part of property of the Russian military
base in Batumi with a total weight of 293 tonnes will be dispatched
on Thursday by the fourth train from Georgia to Armenia, to the
Russian military base in Gyumri, Itar-Tass learnt from a
representative of the Group of Russian Troops in Transcaucasia,
staying in Batumi.
"All this property was brought to the Batumi freight railway station
in good time and loaded into 18 wagons, wherefrom the train will head
for Armenia on Thursday," he specified.
The representative added that another train and a motor convoy would
take property and military hardware of the Batumi base from Georgia
to Armenia, to the Gyumri base, while still another train will bring
part of property and hardware of the Batumi base to Russia via
Azerbaijan. Eleven trains brought materiel and property of the
Russian base in Batumi from Georgia to Russia between May and late
June.
Assistant to the commander-in-chief of the Russian Land Troops Igor
Konashenkov said in Moscow in July that "Russia implements fully and
even ahead of time assumed obligations on the withdrawal of the
military bases from Georgia".
He noted that the Russian military base in Akhalkalaki was handed
over to the Georgian Defence Ministry late last June, although under
the agreement, it was to be transferred by next October. Military
materiel and property of the Akhalkalaki base were brought to Russia
and Armenia in 2005-2007, while facilities of the base were handed
over to the Georgian Defence Ministry last June.
As for the base in Batumi, under the Georgia-Russian understandings,
it will be closed down by October 1, 2008. The withdrawal of the
military hardware and property of the Batumi base to Russia and
Armenia started in 2005-2006 and continues this year.