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RIA Novosti
June 23, 2004
ESTABLISHMENT JOINTLY WITH RUSSIA OF ANTI-TERRORIST CENTRE IN
SOUTHERN CAUCASUS PROPOSED IN GEORGIA
TBILISI, June 23 (RIA Novosti) - A regular round of the
Georgian-Russian consultations on military questions will be held in
Moscow on June 23-24.
As Georgia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported, the Georgian side
is ready to propose new initiatives, which can speed up the process
of the withdrawal of the Russian military bases from Georgia, to the
Russian counterparts.
Listed among them is establishment of a joint Anti-Terrorist Centre
(ATC) in the Southern Caucasus.
The Georgian delegation will be headed by Deputy Minister of Foreign
Affairs Merab Antadze.
The agreement on withdrawal of four Russian military bases from
Georgia was signed at the summit of the Organisation for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Istanbul in 1999. In keeping with the
accords reached, the Russian side has already dismantled two of its
bases - in Vaziani and Gudauta (Abkhazia).
As for the remaining two Russian bases in Batumi and Akhalkalaki on
the border with Armenia, the Istanbul agreement provides for holding
additional talks between the Georgian and Russian sides to set the
deadline for their withdrawal.
In the Russian side's opinion, it will take about 11 years to pull
the above-said bases out, whereas the Georgian side believes that
three years are enough for it.
June 23, 2004
ESTABLISHMENT JOINTLY WITH RUSSIA OF ANTI-TERRORIST CENTRE IN
SOUTHERN CAUCASUS PROPOSED IN GEORGIA
TBILISI, June 23 (RIA Novosti) - A regular round of the
Georgian-Russian consultations on military questions will be held in
Moscow on June 23-24.
As Georgia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported, the Georgian side
is ready to propose new initiatives, which can speed up the process
of the withdrawal of the Russian military bases from Georgia, to the
Russian counterparts.
Listed among them is establishment of a joint Anti-Terrorist Centre
(ATC) in the Southern Caucasus.
The Georgian delegation will be headed by Deputy Minister of Foreign
Affairs Merab Antadze.
The agreement on withdrawal of four Russian military bases from
Georgia was signed at the summit of the Organisation for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Istanbul in 1999. In keeping with the
accords reached, the Russian side has already dismantled two of its
bases - in Vaziani and Gudauta (Abkhazia).
As for the remaining two Russian bases in Batumi and Akhalkalaki on
the border with Armenia, the Istanbul agreement provides for holding
additional talks between the Georgian and Russian sides to set the
deadline for their withdrawal.
In the Russian side's opinion, it will take about 11 years to pull
the above-said bases out, whereas the Georgian side believes that
three years are enough for it.