Tbilisi Denies Visa to Transcaucasia Troops Commander

byÃ‚Â
Russian Article as of Mar. 11, 2005

New Commander of RussiaÃ¢~@~Ys Troops in Transcaucasia, Major General
Alexander Bespalov has been denied an entry visa to Georgia and is
unable to arrive in Tbilisi, notwithstanding that the RF Ministry of
Foreign Affairs notified in advance the Georgian Foreign Ministry
about forthcoming change in the troopsÃ¢~@~Y commander.

Major General Bespalov has replaced Lieutenant General Alexander
Studenikin, who was appointed to command the 2nd Guards All-Arms Army
(Samara). Bespalov, who arrived from Moscow after finishing the
General StaffÃ¢~@~Ys Military Academy, had to take over the office not
in the staff of the TranscaucasiaÃ¢~@~Ys troops in Tbilisi, but in the
territory of the 102nd RussiaÃ¢~@~Ys military base in Gyumri, Armenia.
According to Vladimir Kuparadze, Deputy Commander of the
TranscaucasiaÃ¢~@~Ys troops, Georgia has given no reasons for
visaÃ¢~@~Ys denial to Bespalov.

–Boundary_(ID_tFAMU1Aj97E1c+7UB6jSaA)–